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CAUSES 



OF 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION; 



PARTICULARLY THOSE WHICH HAVE OCCASIONED 



THE 



PRESENT LOW STATE OF RELIGION 



AMONG DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS 



OF 



CHRISTIANS. 



BY JEREMIAH CHAPLIN, D. D. 

Pastor of the Baptist Church in Willington, Con. 



HARTFORD: 
CANFIELD AND ROBINS, 

1837. 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837, by Jeremiah 
Chaplin, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 






In compliance with the earnest desire of several individuals, al- 
so of the Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, as expressed 
in the annexed resolution, the undersigned take pleasure in stating 
that the Rev. Dr. Chaplin has consented to present to the Christian 
public, in the form in which it now appears, his essay, originally 
prepared for an annual address of the Board to our churches in 
this state. It being adapted to the condition of churches of every 
denomination — embracing no denominational peculiarity — it was 
thought that it would be acceptable to professors of religion gene- 
rally. May the Lord bless this effort of his servant to all Chris- 
tians, and cause him to feel that his labor has not been in vain. 

In behalf of the Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, 

HENRY JACKSON, 
GURDON ROBINS, 

Hartford, May 13th, 1837. Committee. 



The Board of the Connecticut Baptist Convention, at their 
Quarterly Meeting, held in Hartford on Tuesday, December 13th, 
1836, ha\ing heard an essay, prepared by Rev. J. Chaplin, D. D., 
on the present low state of religion in the churches, passed the fol- 
lowing Resolution : 

Resolved, That the Rev. Dr. Chaplin be requested to publish 
his Essay in the form of a volume, and that the Rev. Henry Jack- 
son and Rev. Gurdon Robins be associated with him to make ar- 
rangements for its publication. 

Attest, ORSAMUS ALLEN, Sec'y, 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION— The low state of religion among Chris- 
tians considered, and the importance of ascertaining 
the causes of the evil. Primary cause, the depravity of 
the human heart. Other causes stated and illustrated in 
the following chapters. ...--- 5 

CHAP. I.— Neglect of the Bread of Life, ... 9 

CHAP. II. — Improper connections with the ungodly, - 19 

CHAP. III.— Spiritual Indolence, .... 23 

CHAP. IV. — Want of a suitable control over our Thoughts, 26 

CHAP. V. — Neglect of Prayer ; particularly of secret Prayer, 33 

CHAP. VI.— Temporal Prosperity, ... 44 

CHAP. VII.— Desecration of the Sabbath, ... 54 

CHAP. VIII. — Too great precipitancy in the admission of 

candidates to Church Fellowship, .... 60 

CHAP. IX. — Violent Religious Excitements, - - - 66 

CHAP. X. — Extensive prevalence of the opinion that the 
influence of religious principle cannot be expected in 
most cases to be steady and constant ... 69 

CHAP. XI. — Perversion of the Doctrine of Grace, 75 

CHAP. XII. — The manner in which Christian ministers too 

often spend their time when out of the Pulpit, 81 

CHAP. XIII. — Prevalence of the opinion that on the pastor 
of a church is devolved nearly the whole work of promo- 
ting the interests of religion in the place where he resides, 86 

CHAP. XIV. — Manner in which Christians frequently treat 

the Holy Spirit, 92 

CHAP. XV. — Neglect of the daily exercise of Repentance 

towards God and of faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, 100 

CLOSING ADDRESS. 103 



INTRODUCTION. 

The low state of religion among Christians considered, 
and the importance of ascertaining the causes of the 
evil. Primary cause, the depravity of the human heart. 
Other causes stated and illustrated in the following 
chapters. 

That religion is, at present, in a low state, will, it 
is believed, be generally admitted. There is, in- 
deed, a vast deal said, especially on great public oc- 
casions, in relation to the interests of Christ's king- 
dom in the wodd. An abundance of warmth and 
zeal is frequently manifested on these occasions ; 
and very touching things are uttered by many of 
the watchmen on Zion's walls, and by such of our 
lay brethren as come forward to advocate her cause. 
A kind of bustling activity is exhibited throughout 
the ranks of " the sacramental host of God's elect.' 
The noble design in which the church has recently 
embarked — that of extending the empire of her 
King and Saviour through the world — has attract- 
ed the attention of multitudes, and has elicited 
from great numbers, not only expressions of ap- 
probation and applause, but very liberal subscrip- 
tions. The imposing grandeur of the enterprise 
has contributed much to its popularity ; more has, 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

accordingly, been done for its promotion than the 
most sanguine of its friends presumed to antici- 
pate. But amidst all this stir and bustle, there seems 
to be but little of the vitality and power of religion 
— but little of that deep, sober, unostentatious 
piety which once characterized the Christian com- 
munity. And in those who are destitute of the 
grace of God, there is, generally speaking, scarce 
any appearance of anxiety to flee from the wrath 
to come, and lay hold on eternal life. The riches, 
honors, and pleasures of the world, most evidently 
engross their time and thoughts. Many of them 
take no pains to obtain that religious instruction 
which is God's appointed means of saving souls ; 
while those who visit our worshipping assemblies, 
and pay a respectful attention to the public offices 
of religion, appear to receive no salutary impres- 
sions ; they seem as easy in their sins, and as much 
devoted to worldly pursuits as they would natural- 
ly be did they know that the gospel was a cunning- 
ly devised fable, and that its whole system of doc- 
trines, promises and duties, was founded in falsehood 
or delusion. 

At such a time the friends of God should be 
alarmed, and labor to ascertain the cause of the de- 
clension which so extensively prevails. Such an ef- 
fort is, undoubtedly, the first step towards effecting a 
removal of the existing evil. Till the cause be ascer- 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

tained, no remedy can be applied with any cer- 
tainty of success. And when the cause is ascer- 
tained, the proper remedy will soon be discovered. 
It will, undoubtedly, be admitted by orthodox 
Christians of every name, that the depravity of the 
human heart lies at the foundation of the evil in 
question. This depravity involves a constant ten- 
dency towards the world — a tendency which, unless 
counteracted, will effectually prevent each individual 
in whom it exists from exercising those holy affec- 
tions which the word of God requires. And as its 
influence is great, so it is universal. It is not, in- 
deed, equally powerful in all the individuals of our 
race. In unconverted men it is supreme. In them 
it has little, if any thing to contend with, except the 
power of natural conscience, occasionally excited 
by the common influences of the Spirit of God, and 
those social principles which exist m the breast of 
every human being, however depraved ; and which, 
except in cases where depravity is fearfully aggra- 
vated by long custom in sin, exert some influence 
in opposition to the unholy dispositions of the heart. 
In persons renewed by the grace of God, this de- 
pravity has to contend, not only with conscience 
and the social affections, but with the principle of 
holiness implanted in the breast of every real Chris- 
tian by the Divine Spirit. This principle is the 
proper and direct antagonist of moral depravity, 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

and exerts at times a powerful and most salutary in- 
fluence in favor of God and holiness. But it too 
often resembles a tender plant growing in an unpro- 
pitious soil — a soil full of the seeds of useless and 
noxious herbs, which require the unremitting atten- 
tion of the cultivator to check their progress. The 
heart even of the pious man, is sadly depraved ; 
and this depravity is the grand, primary cause of 
that decline in religion which we have so much rea- 
son to lament. But this is a cause which always 
exists ; when religion maintains its most elevated 
stand, as well as when it is in its lowest state. There 
are certain other things which exist and operate at 
particular times, and which give to the depravity 
of the heart that powerful, predominating influence, 
which it occasionally exerts. To some of these the 
attention of the Christian reader will be directed in 
the following chapters. 



CAUSES 

OF 

RELIGIOUS DECLENSION 



CHAPTER I. 

Neglect of the Bread of Life. 

Men in their unrenewed state are dead in tres- 
passes and sins ; and they continue in this fearful 
condition, till " God who is rich in mercy, for his 
great love wherewith he has loved them," is pleased 
to " quicken them" by the communication of his Ho- 
ly Spirit to their hearts. 

This great moral change, commonly called re- 
generation, is the commencement of spiritual life in 
the soul ; a life which is destined to be eternal, and to 
increase in strength both in the present and future 
world. But this requires the use of certain means 
which Divine wisdom has provided.. Among these, 
a competent supply of spiritual food is not the least 
important. Does any one inquire, what is meant 
by spiritual food ? The answer is ready : it is that 

2 



10 CAUSES OF 

system of truth contained in the sacred scriptures. 
Divine truth is the proper aliment of the soul. Ac- 
cordingly, St. Peter, addressing his brethren, says : 
" As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the 
word, that ye may grow thereby." It may be thought 
an objection, that our Saviour calls himself " the 
bread of life." But the difficulty will instantly van- 
ish when we consider that it is by means of the truth 
contained in the Bible, that Christ is presented to 
the soul as the bread of life. It is from this holy 
book we obtain our knowledge of Christ, and of 
the fullness of grace and truth which is to be found 
in him. We are, accordingly, sometimes represent- 
ed, as feeding upon Christ, and sometimes upon the 
truth, or word of God. Both expressions have sub- 
stantially the same meaning. 

Let it be further remarked, that there are two 
principal methods by which this food is obtained. 
The first is, by going directly to the Bible, the grand 
repository of sacred truth. This, every Christian, 
in ordinary circumstances, is bound to do daily, and 
more than once in a day. Most people partake of 
temporal food thrice a day. And if Christians would 
enjoy spiritual health, they must do the same in re- 
lation to " that meat which endureth to everlasting 
life." Besides, as we have our stated seasons for 
partaking of temporal food, it is highly important 
that we adopt a similar arrangement in regard to 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 11 

spiritual food. Particular portions of each day — ■ 
say in the morning, at noon, and at night — should 
be devoted to the work of perusing the sacred vol- 
ume, and meditating on its precious and glorious 
truths. And it is very important that, in attending 
to the Bible, we peruse it in course ; otherwise por- 
tions, perhaps some very interesting portions of it, 
will be wholly neglected. Besides, we should la- 
bour to understand what we read ; to read, and not 
understand, will be of no use to us. Our food does 
us no good unless it be digested : and divine truth, 
precious and glorious as it is, is equally useless, un- 
less it be understood. It is almost equally important 
that much of the Bible be treasured up in memo?']/. 
Truths read and forgotten, are not likely to be of 
any permanent benefit to the soul. They are of no 
use any longer than they are remembered. I could 
name an individual who, in early life, adopted the 
following method of perusing the Scriptures. He 
divided the whole Bible into three sections ; the 
first comprising the Old Testament as far as the end 
of Esther ; the second, all the remainder of the Old 
Testament ; while the third contained the whole of 
the New. He read each of the three sections in 
course, and a portion of each every day. And it 
was his practice when he found a passage uncom- 
monly interesting, to pay particular attention to it. 
If, for example, it furnished proof of any doctrine, 



12 CAUSES OF 

or contained a promise, or a threat, or an invitation, 
or any thing remarkably pathetic, sublime, or beau- 
tiful, or proper to be used in prayer, he was accus- 
tomed to stop, and read the passage over, leisurely, 
several times, until it was pretty thoroughly imprint- 
ed on his memory. He would then read on as 
usual. And this course he pursued for months and 
years. The result was that, in process of time, and 
without much labor, he had treasured up a very 
considerable portion of the whole Bible in memory, 
and such parts of it, too, as are peculiarly important 
and valuable. Hence, he found himself furnished 
with plenty of materials for the most profitable 
meditation — materials. always in readiness; so that 
when he was engaged in secular business, or was on 
a journey, or was hindered in any other way from 
reading the Bible, its contents were so familiar that 
he could proceed with the most interesting trains of 
thought, with nearly the same pleasure and success, 
as he could expect to enjoy with the Bible in his 
hand. Such was the course adopted by the individ- 
ual in question : and such were some of the benefits 
he derived from it. And would it not be well for 
all Christians who can read, to adopt a similar 
course ? Would it not contribute greatly to pro- 
mote the spirit and power of religion in their souls ? 
And is not the neglect of this holy book one great 
reason why so many Christians at the present time 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 13 

are in a feeble, famished, languishing condition ? It 
is as certain as any thing demonstrated in the math- 
ematics, that holy exercises of heart are all depend- 
ent on the truths of the Bible. Without the influ- 
ence of these truths, the greatest Christian in 
the world would lose his spiritual life, and sink into 
the condition of those who are dead in tresspasses and 
sins. And can we wonder that such multitudes of 
professed Christians are at present laboring under 
a sad decline in regard to their spiritual life, and 
seem hardly adequate to the performance of any spi- 
ritual duty ? The Bible is neglected by them. They 
seldom read it ; and when they do, it is done in such 
a careless and hurried manner as to impart no in- 
struction, and, consequently, no nourishment to their 
souls. Our temporal food does us but little good 
unless it be taken leisurely, and be properly digest- 
ed. The same is true of that food which endureth 
to everlasting life. 

An objector may here say " It is only a few mo- 
ments of each day that we can devote to reading of 
any kind : and if we read the Bible as much as you 
recommend, we can read no other works whatever. 
Shall we then neglect to read the religious publica- 
tions of the day ? Shall we leave off taking religious 
newspapers and magazines ? Must we dismiss all 
books but the Bible F 

In reply I would remark, that if an individual is 

2* 



14 CAUSES OF 

so situated that he must either dismiss his Bible, or 
all other books, the latter should, unquestionably, be 
done. The Bible contains a far richer treasure than 
all the other books in the world. But the alterna- 
tive above stated does not often exist. Even the 
man who is immersed in secular business can find 
time, if he earnestly desires it, for reading the Bible 
several times in a day, and for consulting commen- 
taries, and for perusing, at least one religious peri- 

'odical besides. The same is true of the man who 
is so indigent that he has to labor hard for his daily 
bread. Early rising, a suitable division of time, and 

• abstinence from idle conversation and vain amuse- 
ments, will enable any man, who enjoys his liberty 
and his health, to devote more than one hour, every 
day, to profitable reading. 

There is another method of obtaining the bread 
of life; and that is by attending on the preached 
gospel. 'This is recommended by some advantages 
which do not accompany the perusal of the Scrip- 
tures. The great truths of revelation as exhibited 
in the Bible resemble the various productions of the 
earth as they are found in the field, or in the store. 
The same truths as exhibited from the pulpit by a 
scribe well instructed in the kingdom of God, 
may be compared to food dressed under the direc- 
tion of a faithful steward, and set on the table. It is 
on some accounts better adapted to the nourishment 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 15 

of our bodies than it was in its original state. And 
this, no doubt, is one reason why the Lord who is 
so attentive to all our spiritual wants, has ordained 
the ministry of his word as the grand means of feed- 
ing his church and saving souls. There is this ad- 
ditional advantage attending the preached gospel, 
that if the word is skilfully divided, each hearer has 
such a portion of spiritual food assigned him, as his 
peculiar state and circumstances require. To babes 
in Christ milk is administered ; while strong meat is 
provided for such of the family of God as have at- 
tained to maturity of age. 

It is, however, important to observe, that there is 
one disadvantage attending the reception of our spir- 
itual food from the hands of the ordinary ministers 
of the gospel. As they are not, however skilful 
and pious, divinely inspired, they are liable to adul- 
terate the word of God by mixing errors with the 
truths which they exhibit. Now, whatever some 
may think, error is not food, but poison to the soul. 
And this poison is, in many cases, so intimately com- 
bined with the bread of life, and so powerfully re- 
commended by the eloquence of the preacher, and 
the high rank he holds in our estimation, that we are 
in great danger of receiving it without hesitation, 
and are, consequently, liable to suffer much in re- 
gard to our spiritual health, without even suspecting 
the cause of our misfortune. This consideration, 



16 CAUSES OF 

however, should not hinder us from going to the 
house of God to hear his word dispensed ; but should 
rather excite us to analyze all we hear from the pul- 
pit, and to separate, as far as possible, the precious 
from the vile, comparing both with the infallible 
standard presented in the word of God. And this 
exercise, though at first it is likely to be somewhat 
painful, is eminently adapted to advance the Chris- 
tian in spiritual knowledge, and, consequently, to 
increase his ability to digest that " strong meat," of 
which St. Paul speaks in the fifth chapter of his 
epistle to the Hebrews. 

Now in regard to this latter method of obtain- 
ing the bread of life, there is, unquestionably, a 
most criminal neglect on the part of professors of 
religion. They do not attend on the preached 
word so punctually as they ought, and a large por- 
tion of those who do attend with a good degree of 
punctuality on the Sabbath, are still neglectful of re- 
ligious meetings on secular days, and frequently ab- 
sent themselves without any gbod reason. Nor is 
this all. They do not hear, when they do attend, 
with becoming interest. Their thoughts are too of- 
ten wandering, with the fool's eye, to the ends of 
the earth. And, frequently, when their atten- 
tion is sufficiently fixed, they hear as mere 
speculatists, without applying the truth to them- 
selves, and mixing it with faith. Hence, though 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 17 

interested and entertained, they are not profited ; 
they get no food for their souls. This, alas ! seems 
to be true of multitudes of professors at the present 
day, even of such as are assiduous in their attend- 
ance on the ministry of the word. The gospel 
comes to them rather as the word of man, than as 
the word of God. Hence, though it may please 
them, it is of no real benefit. They go to the sanc- 
tuary of God, as people go to the theatre, to be 
amused ; and no wonder that amusement is all they 
obtain. The most evangelical and able discourses 
are in a great measure lost upon them. An abun- 
dance of the bread of life is set before them. They 
look upon it, admire it, and praise it. And there 
the matter ends. They do not feed upon it, and 
therefore pine and languish in the midst of plenty. 

There are many who neglect the preached word, 
under the pretence that the man who dispenses it is 
not an interesting preacher. He is not so learned, 
or so ingenious, or so eloquent, as he should be. He- 
does nothing more than exhibit plain truth in a plain 
manner. They want something different. They 
resemble the Israelites in the wilderness who be- 
came tired of the manna which God had given them, 
and desired flesh. God sent them flesh in abun- 
dance, and with it sent the most fearful tokens of 
his wrath. And persons who indulge the spirit of 
those perverse Israelites have reason to tremble lest 



18 CAUSES OF 

he should adopt a similar course with respect to 
themselves, and, while he "grants them their request, 
should send leanness into their souls." Alas ! 
alas ! in how many instances has he done it already ? 
And let it be remembered that professors of the above 
description are very numerous. What multitudes 
there are who cannot hear a gospel sermon unless 
it contain a great many fine figures, and what they 
call new and striking thoughts, embellished with the 
charms of language and the graces of oratory ! 
Such persons, I am sure, would have considered 
St. Paul a very dull preacher. How could they 
bear to hear a man who came to them, " not with 
excellency of speech or of wisdom," and who " de- 
termined not to know any thing among them save Je- 
sus Christ and him crucified" ? But such preaching as 
that of Paul was, after all, as good, at least, as the 
fashionable preaching of the present day. People 
who paid a proper attention to the preaching of this 
great apostle were " strong in the Lord and in the 
power of his might." His discourses were full of 
Christ that bread of God which came down from 
heaven. And I cannot but think that in proportion 
as Christian ministers of the present day resemble 
St. Paul, their sermons and other discourses will be 
edifying to the man who hears them with right feel- 
ings of heart. He will grow in grace and in the 
knowledge of Christ ; while those who, loathing this 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 19 

heavenly manna, are seeking something else, must, 
though real Christians, be weak, and dwarfish, and 
sickly , and, unless their course be changed, must 
wait a long time before they attain to the stature 
of perfect men in Christ. 



CHAPTER II. 

Improper connections with the ungodly. 

That physical health is often destroyed by asso- 
ciating freely with persons afflicted with contagious 
diseases, is a fact too well known to need any proof. 
And this evil has its counterpart in the moral and 
spiritual world. By indulging ourselves in impro- 
per intimacies with ungodly men, we are in great 
danger of becoming infected with their spirit, and of 
copying their example. It is indeed true, that, so 
long as we are in the world, we must have some in- 
tercourse with unrenewed men ; not only with the 
decent and the moral, but with those who are dis- 
tinguished by vice and wickedness. We frequently 
have secular ^business to transact with such men. 
We arc sometimes united to them by ties of affinity 



20 CAUSES OF 

or consanguinity. And it is often our duty to go 
among them in order to reclaim them from the error 
of their ways. Accordingly, St. Paul intimates 
to his Corinthian brethren that they could not always 
avoid the company, even of fornicators, unless they 
would go out of the world. Our Saviour him- 
self associated with publicans and sinners that he 
might have opportunity of speaking to them the 
words of eternal life, and of rescuing them from that 
state of moral pollution and degradation into which 
they had fallen. Nor will any one deny that this 
was one of the loveliest traits in the character of 
Him whose errand into the world was, " not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance f or assert 
that it is not lawful for his disciples to copy this ex- 
cellence in his character. No, it unquestionably 
becomes his people, and especially his ministers, to 
" go into the streets and lanes, the highways and 
hedges," and labour to persuade the vilest of man- 
kind to come to that feast which eternal wisdom has 
provided. And, blessed be God, many of his peo- 
ple are assiduously and successfully employed, at 
present, in this labor of love. And they need not 
fear the contaminating influence of so intimate an 
intercourse with the profligate and vicious. The 
grace which has prompted them to undertake this 
benevolent and holy enterprise, is sufficient to pro- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSIdtf. 21 

tect them, and will protect them against the moral 
infection to which they are exposed. 

But there are connections with unrenewed men 
of a character very different from those to which 
I have now adverted. Many a professor of reli- 
gion has, without the least necessity, formed allian- 
ces, political, social, or matrimonial, with individuals 
whose views of religion were essentially corrupt, 
and whose morals, to say the least, did not rise 
above the depressed standard of public opinion 
— a standard far less elevated than that of our Sa- 
viour and his apostles. And these alliances have 
had the effect on each of the persons in question 
which might have been expected. His situation 
has, to the interests of his soul, been dangerous in 
the extreme. His moral atmosphere has, almost 
continually, been loaded with pestilence and death. 
He has gradually become assimilated to the char- 
acter of his associates : has imbibed their spirit, has 
embraced the maxims of worldly wisdom by which 
he found them governed, and has become polluted 
with all the moral diseases which had spread their 
deleterious influences around him. The evil to which 
I have now adverted is one of general prevalence, 
and threatens to extend itself over the whole reli- 
gious community. It is that friendship of the 
world which is enmity with God, and which tends so 
-eminently to destroy the impress of his holiness on 

3 



22 CAUSES OF 

the children of his grace. It was against this evil 
that St. Paul lifted his warning voice in his second 
epistle to the church in Corinth, " Be ye not unequal- 
ly yoked together with unbelievers ; for what fel- 
lowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? 
and what communion hath light with darkness ? and 
what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or what part 
hath he that believeth with an infidel ? and what 
agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? for 
ye are the temple of the living God ; as God hath 
said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I 
will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye 
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean 
thing ; and I will receive you, and will be a Fa- 
ther unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- 
ters, saith the Lord Almighty." A disregard of this 
direction, of the reasons on which it is founded, and 
of the cheering assurance by which it is enforced 
is one of the prominent causes of the low state of 
religion among us. It has polluted and paralyzed 
the Christian community ; and, unless counteracted, 
must soon reduce it to one fearful mass of moral 
corruption, and entirely obliterate the distinction, 
once so fair and legible, between the church of Je- 
sus Christ, and the world that lies in wickedness. 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 23 

CHAPTER III. 

Spiritual Indolence. 

A proper attention to exercise, is well known to 
be essential to the health of the body. However 
strong and vigorous the physical constitution of an 
individual, his strength in a short time will be great- 
ly impaired, if exercise be wholly neglected. Should 
the most athletic person you can name betake him- 
self to his bed, and lie there the whole time for seve- 
ral months, he will scarcely be able, at the expira- 
tion of that time, to walk across the floor of his 
apartment. And he will be singularly fortunate if 
disease has not invaded his enfeebled frame. Now 
there is, in this respect, a striking analogy between 
the body and the soul. The latter needs exercise 
as much as the former. A want of suitable em- 
ployment tends greatly to enervate the intellectual 
powers, and to disqualify them for those vigorous 
efforts to which they are naturally adapted. The 
same holds when man is considered as a moral 
and spiritual being. Let the Christian who is bless- 
ed with the most vigorous spiritual health, neglect to 
exercise those gifts and graces with which the Lord 
has endowed him, and though he were a Sampson 
in " the sacramental host," he must soon lose his 



24 CAUSES OF 

giant strength, and, on account of the weakness he 
betrays, become the sport and derision of the ene- 
mies of God. 

It deserves to be remembered here, that it is not 
every kind of exercise which will answer the pur- 
pose. It is now generally agreed that such labor 
as is ordinarily performed by the industrious part of 
the community is most conducive to bodily health. 
Those gymnastic exercises which were so much in 
vogue a few years since, have nearly all been laid 
aside. Experience has decided that they are not 
so beneficial to the physical system, as those agri- 
cultural and mechanical exercises in which the great 
mass of mankind are generally engaged, and from 
which their subsistence is derived. The labors of 
the farm and of the mechanics' shop, have, for this, 
as well as for other reasons, been substituted in our 
seminaries of learning for those of the gymnasium, 
which were formerly so much extolled. It is now 
settled that productive labor is most conducive to 
bodily health. And can any one doubt whether the 
same holds in regard to spiritual health ? Produc- 
tive labor in a spiritual sense, is labor adapted to 
promote the glory of God, and the salvation of men ; 
in other words, it is the labor which God requires ; 
it is obedience to his commands. And this his peo- 
ple invariably find most conducive to their moral 
and spiritual health. Exercises not enjoined by the 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 25 

word of God, have no tendency to invigorate the 
Christian's spiritual powers. They may increase 
his strength as an intellectual being. No doubt the 
sagacity of wicked men and devils has often been 
augmented by the efforts which they have made in 
opposition to Christ and his kingdom. But the sys- 
tem of holy affections existing in the Christian's 
heart is never strengthened, but invariably weaken- 
ed, by such labors, however regular and systematic, 
as are not enjoined, or authorized, by the word 
of God. It is the neglect of those exercises which 
God requires ; in other words, the neglect of duty 9 
which, for some time past, has been weakening the 
spiritual energies of his people. They have, per- 
haps, been busily employed ; not, however, in serv- 
ing God or their generation according to his will, 
but in useless speculations, or in sharp disputes and 
angry controversies ; or in efforts to advance their 
own sect, to the injury, if not to the ruin, of other 
sects ; or in unjustifiable endeavors to obtain the 
riches, honors, and pleasures of the world. There 
has been too much ground for the complaint against 
professors of our day, which St. Paul uttered 
against professors of his time ; " All seek their own y 
not the things which are Jesus Christ's." A con- 
stant and vigorous effort to advanee his cause, in con- 
formity with the directions of his word, is rarely to 
be met with. In regard to this matter, though in- 
3* 



26 CAUSES OP 

finitely momentous, the wise and foolish virgins 
seem to be slumbering together. No wonder, then, 
that the former are in a feeble and languishing condi- 
tion. If the reverse were true, we must consider 
the order of nature, in regard to intellectual and mo- 
ral beings, as essentially subverted. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Want of a suitable Control over our Thoughts. 

" Keep thy heart with all diligence," is one of the 
most important of those rules for which we are in- 
debted to the wisest of men. The consideration 
which he adduces to enforce the rule, is equally de- 
serving of our attention. " For out of it," that is, 
out of the heart, * are the issues of life f meaning 
either that a man's life and conversation will corres- 
pond with the state of his heart, just as the stream is 
pure, or otherwise, according to the quality of the 
fountain ; or else, that out of a heart well kept will 
flow the streams of a holy life and godly conversa- 
tion, pleasing to God, and beneficial to ourselves and 
all around us. In either sense, keeping the heart 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 27 

must be a work of vast importance ; a work in 
which we ought to be industriously and unremitting- 
ly employed. Accordingly, the sacred writer who 
has given us the direction, says, not simply, " keep 
thy heart," but keep it "with diligence;" nay, " with 
all diligence." The most constant and persevering 
assiduity, in the view of this inspired philosopher 
and sage, was not too much to be employed by any 
man in keeping his heart. The direction is, indeed, 
one of wide extent, embracing the whole range of 
duties which we are bound to discharge in relation 
to our intellectual and moral nature. The full il- 
lustration of it, therefore, would require a volume, 
instead of a single chapter, or part of a chapter, 
rather, of a short essay. I shall, of course, leave 
the general subject untouched, and shall confine my- 
self to the single point which stands connected with 
my present object, namely, the proper regulation of 
our thoughts. This, to every man who is acquaint- 
ed with the philosophy of the human mind, or who 
has been at all accustomed to observe his own men- 
tal processes, must appear a very difficult task. It 
is only to a certain extent that our thoughts are 
under our control. A succession of ideas in the mind 
is unavoidable. The greatest effort on our part to 
detain an idea to the exclusion of all other ideas, is 
not sufficient to ensure success for any great length 
of time. Other thoughts will crowd in, and banish 



28 CAUSES OF 

for a season that which we are seeking to detain. 
The various relations among our thoughts, such a# 
those of cause and effect, of resemblance and con* 
trast, and of contiguity in time and place, exert a 
mighty influence on our intellectual powers, and 
proportionably increase the difficulty of subjecting, 
them to proper regulation. Nor is this all. We 
have strong reason to believe that those " principali- 
ties and powers" of which the Bible speaks, those 
" spiritual wickednesses in high places" which it 
represents as " rulers of the darkness of this world," 
frequently inject into the mind, even of a good 
man, a variety of thoughts so intrinsically bad, that 
did he not suspect the cause from which they were 
derived, he must Consider himself as utterly desti- 
tute of the grace of God. Still,. there is much which' 
we have it in our power to do for the regulation of 
our thoughts. When, as often happens, several 
trains of thought are presented to the mind, it can 
select one of them, and pursue it, disregarding the 
rest. It can vary the train of thought by change of 
scenery, or change of company, or change of 
books. And by cherishing a particular tone of mind, 
it can secure a succession of ideas in harmony with 
it. And so far as we have ability to control and 
regulate our thoughts, we are, doubtless, under ob- 
ligation to do it. We are, of course, guilty in the 
sight of God, if instead of exercising this ability* 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 29 

we suffer our intellectual movements to resemble 
those of a ship which has no rudder, and, conse- 
quently, is made the sport of every wind that 
blows.* 

In the regulation of our thoughts, the grand object 
should be to secure such a succession of them as is 
adapted to foster right feelings of heart. It cannot 
have escaped the notice of any reflecting man, that 
as certain states of mind give rise to corresponding 
thoughts ; so certain thoughts are suited to cherish 
and promote certain states of mind. If, for exam- 
ple, you have received an injury from one of your 
fellow men ; your thinking of that injury and bring- 
ing into view the various circumstances of aggra- 
vation by which it was attended, has a powerful 
tendency to increase your resentment towards its 
author. In lik e manner, if you have received a sig- 
nal favor from any one, the more you revolve it in 
your thoughts, the livelier will be your emotions 
of gratitude towards your benefactor. Hence, 
wherever there exists a principle of real piety, it can 
hardly fail to be cherished and heightened by med- 
itating on the being and perfections of God, and par- 
ticularly, on that boundless grace which he has so 
signally manifested in the stupendous work of man's 
redemption. Such meditations are most admirably 
suited to inspire us with love and gratitude to God, 

* See Elements of Criticism. 



30 CAUSES OF 

with godly sorrow for sin, with humble submission 
to the divine will ; with holy confidence in the di- 
vine promises, and, indeed, with all those devout 
affections which the sacred volume enjoins. It is 
equally true, that whenever a pious man allows him- 
self to think without necessity, of the riches, honors 
and pleasures of the world; and, especially, when 
these become daily and hourly the subjects of his 
meditation, the current of his thoughts is directly 
calculated to foster a worldly spirit, and proportion- 
ably to diminish and destroy the spirit of real piety. 
That this is one of the prominent . evils of the 
present day, is to the writer exceedingly manifest. 
He does not, indeed, presume to invade the province 
of Him whose dread prerogative it is to search the 
heart and try the reins. But if he may trust to that 
criterion which the great Preacher of righteousness 
has furnished, " Out of the abundance of the heart 
the mouth speaketh," he need not hesitate to aver, 
that the thoughts of most professors of religion 
have, for a long time, been principally occupied with 
subjects of a worldly nature. They have been say- 
ing, "What shall we eat?" and "What shall we 
drink ?" and " Wherewithal shall we be clothed V 9 
Or, if raised above indigence and dependence, they 
have been inquiring how they might secure the pro- 
perty which they haye acquired, and acquire more. 
What multitudes, too, have been employed in dis- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 31 

cussing the political questions of the day ; or in can- 
vassing the merits of some favorite classic author ; 
or in detailing the blemishes and beauties to be found 
in the productions of some new aspirant for a place 
among the elegant writers of the age ! Meantime, 
how little has been said of Him who is " God mani- 
fest in the flesh," " the brightness of his Father's 
glory and the express image of his person ;" or of 
that great redemption which he came into the world 
to accomplish ; or of the precious soul, and its de- 
praved and ruined state ; or of that dread eternity 
to which it is bound ! And with these facts, can we 
reasonably doubt with what objects the thoughts of 
men, even of professed Christians, have been prin- 
cipally occupied ? Or can we wonder that, under 
these circumstances, the religious state of the Chris- 
tian community has been sinking lower and lower ? 
If the current of our thoughts exerts the important 
influence, which we have represented it as exerting, 
on the feelings our hearts, our hearts cannot fail to 
be in a wretched state, when for days, and weeks, 
and months, the subjects of our contemplation are 
principally of a worldly nature. 

It will, indeed, be readily admitted, that most men 
are under the necessity of devoting a large portion 
of their time to secular affairs ; and, of course, are 
obliged to think, more or less, on subjects of a secu- 
lar nature ; since nobody can properly attend to 



32 CAUSES OP 

business of any kind without bestowing some 
thought upon it. But let conscience speak, and it 
will declare, that a large portion of our worldly 
thoughts have no tendency to promote the success 
of our worldly business. To say nothing of those 
speculations in which men of a peculiar cast of mind 
indulge, and which savor more of the ravings of in- 
sanity than of the chastened operations of a sound 
understanding — speculations in which the indi- 
vidual supposes himself to experience the most 
surprising elevations of fortune ; to make his way 
in a few months, and even in a few days, from in- 
digence and obscurity to the very pinnacle of world- 
ly greatness ; how true it is that a very large 
proportion of men's thoughts respecting their secu- 
lar affairs, which cannot be denominated romantic 
or extravagant, are nevertheless entirely superflu- 
ous, contribute nothing to the maturity or per- 
fection of their worldly schemes, and serve no other 
purpose than to foster a wordly spirit, and to ex- 
clude the thoughts of God, and eternal realities from 
their minds ! We cannot have a clearer proof of 
this point than the well known fact that at those 
seasons in which the people of God are blessed with 
a revival of religion in their souls, and live for a time 
truly devoted to God, their thoughts are almost ex- 
clusively employed in the contemplation of heaven- 
ly things, and still their worldly business is as well 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 33 

managed, and is prosecuted, to say the least, with 
as much success, as it was when it engrossed their 
whole attention. 



CHAPTER V: 

Neglect of prayer ; particularly ', of secret prayer. 

As that prayer which is acceptable to God, im- 
plies right feelings of heart ; so the right perform- 
ance of this duty has a powerful tendency to pre- 
serve the heart in a holy and heavenly frame, and to 
prevent those spiritual decays which the disciples 
of Christ too often experience. The very act of 
approaching unto God, and holding converse with 
him, is admirably adapted to inspire us with those 
holy affections which he requires, and the posses- 
sion of which is so ennobling to the human mind. 
Engaging in the duty of prayer necessarily involves 
a direction of the mind towards Him in whose char- 
acter all possible excellencies are combined; to 
whom belong the incomprehensible attributes of 
omnipresence, omniscience, and almighty power; 
whose righteousness is like the great mountains, and 
whose judgments are a mighty deep ; who is so 

4 



34 



CAUSES OF 



pure that the heavens are not clean in his sight ; 
and so bountiful and gracious that he causes his sun 
to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth his 
rain on the just and on the unjust ; nay, so compas- 
sionate and kind, that he has given his only begot- 
ten and well-beloved Son to suffer and die for our re- 
bellious race, that whosoever believeth in him may 
not perish but have eternal life ; and who, while he 
sways his sceptre over all worlds, is so managing 
the vast concerns of the universe as to render them 
all subservient to his own glory, and to the highest 
happiness of his moral kingdom. It cannot appear 
strange, therefore, that the man who has daily inter- 
course with God, should habitually feel that reve- 
rence and Godly fear which he requires, should pos- 
sess a large measure of genuine humility, should 
mourn for sin after godly sort, and at the same 
time should cherish that holy confidence in God so 
eminently suited both to tranquillize the mind, amidst 
all the changes and revolutions of the world, and to 
prepare it for vigorous efforts in the cause of Christ 
and of human happiness. Nor is it less true that 
the duty of prayer, rightly performed, is admirably 
adapted to make a man feel the real dignity of his 
nature. Nothing shows the greatness of the human 
mind in so striking a light as its possession of those 
capacities and powers which qualify it to know, to 
serve, and to enjoy its Creator. The prayerless 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 35 

man has no idea of the real grandeur of his own 
soul Estranged from God, he cannot know what 
pure and exalted pleasures his intellectual and mor- 
al nature is fitted to enjoy. He has pride and van- 
ity in abundance ; but no just sense of the dignity 
of his nature. Nor can he ever attain it till he 
knows by happy experience what it is to approach 
unto God, and exercise towards him those pious af- 
fections which the right performance of the duty of 
prayer necessarily involves. It is equally true, that 
when the real Christian neglects this duty, he loses 
in a great measure those views and feelings of which 
the man who never prays is habitually and totally 
destitute ; and is, of course, deprived of that securi- 
ty against declension and apostasy which the people 
of God, in their best days, are wont to enjoy. 

But we must not stop here. The duty of prayer 
is especially valuable as a means of obtaining from 
Him whom we address, the various blessings of 
which we stand in need. God hears and answers 
prayer. Of this no one can entertain a doubt who 
believes the declarations of the inspired volume. It 
asserts in the plainest terms the availableness of 
prayer. It represents the Almighty as saying to 
each of his people, " Call upon me in the day of 
trouble ; I will deliver thee ; and thou shalt glorify 
me." It assures us that " the effectual fervent prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much." It introduces 



36 CAUSES OF 

our Saviour as saying to his disciples, " Ask, and it 
shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you. For every one 
that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; 
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If ye, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your 
children ; how much more shall your Father who 
is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
him !" Now the duty of prayer must be highly im- 
portant to us, if it be thus prevalent with God ; es- 
pecially, if by means of it we can obtain the gift of 
the Holy Spirit. This is better, unspeakably bet- 
ter, than all the riches, honors, and pleasures of the 
world. To have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as 
our teacher, sanctifier, and comforter, is to be filled 
with all the fulness of God ; to have Christ in us the 
hope of glory ; to be blessed with all spiritual bless- 
ings in heavenly places ; nay, to be temples of the 
living God, and to experience, on earth, the earnest 
and the commencement of eternal life and glory in 
heaven. How conducive, then, must the duty of 
prayer be to the Christian's spiritual prosperity ! 
and how great the loss which he must sustain from 
the habitual neglect of it ! And can we doubt wheth- 
er this neglect is one cause of the low state of reli- 
gion among us ? 

" But is it true that the duty of prayer is neglect- 
ed by the people of God ? Do they not assemble 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 37 

as usual for religious worship on the Lord's day ? 
Do not many assemble for the same purpose' in the 
vestry, or conference room, on secular days ? And 
do not Christians generally offer the morning and 
evening sacrifices on the family altar ?" 

That these duties are performed by many will be 
readily granted. But is it not a lamentable truth, 
that many professors of religion absent themselves 
a large portion of the time from our worshipping as- 
semblies on the Lord's day ? that in many places the 
vestry and the conference room are almost deserted ? 
and that the family altar in many Christian families is 
seldom approached ? and is it not equally true that, 
when the duty of prayer is performed, it is generally 
characterized by such coldness and formality, as 
hardly to deserve the n^me of prayer ? There 
seems to be little or nothing of that holy warmth 
and fervor by which the prayers of God's people 
were once distinguished. And can it be supposed 
that when social prayer is so much neglected, or so 
heartlessly performed, secret prayer, if performed 
at all, is characterized by those feelings of heart 
which render it acceptable to God? 

Let it be here remarked that the neglect of secret 
prayer is probably a principal cause of the neglect, 
or unacceptable performance of the duty of social 
prayer, and of all that stupidity and worldliness, 

and inattention to the things of God of which, at 

4% 



38 CAUSES OF 

at present, there is so much reason to complain. It 
is an old and a just saying among pious people, that 
" declension begins at the closet door." A profess- 
or of religion is much more likely to neglect secret 
than social prayer. He cannot neglect the latter 
without exposing himself to the animadversions and 
reproaches of both saints and sinners ; nor, conse- 
quently, without impairing his reputation as a reli- 
gious man. His absence from the meeting house, 
or the vestry, or the family altar, at the usual sea- 
sons of devotion, cannot fail to be noticed and cen- 
sured by those around him. His fellow Christians 
who are steadfast in their professioi\pannot witness 
such neglect without feelings of regret and disappro- 
bation. Nor can it escape the sentence of condem- 
nation from unconverted men, who, though they 
have no proper regard to religion themselves, per- 
ceive the glaring inconsistency which marks the 
conduct of those who profess to be her votaries, and 
yet pay little or no attention to the duties which she 
enjoins. Hence, many a professor is induced to 
attend on the stated exercises of social prayer, al- 
though he has lost his interest in them, and no long- 
er feels that it is good for him to draw near to God. 
But the same does not hold in regard to secret pray- 
er. This may be neglected for weeks and months, 
without exposing the delinquent to censure or re- 
proach. There is, accordingly, much reason to fear 
that it is neglected bv multitudes of professors whose 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 39 

reputation as religious men stands high, and whose 
seat is seldom empty at any of the appointed sea- 
sons of social worship. But the omission of closet 
duties is eminently prejudicial to the power of godli- 
ness in the soul. It is in the closet we have the 
freest, the most intimate, and the most ennobling in- 
tercourse with the Father of our spirits. It is there, 
especially, that we "draw near to God," and 
" pour out our hearts before him." In the closet, 
we can be as particular as we please in confessing 
our sins, in naming the trials and temptations which 
have befallen us, in recounting the various blessings 
which we have received, and in asking for those of 
which we stand in need. Accordingly, it is in the 
closet that the engaged Christian finds relief from 
the burdens and overwhelming anxieties which he 
experiences : and it is there he enjoys those fore- 
tastes of heaven which wean him from the world, 
secure him against temptation to sin, and stimulate 
him to the vigorous discharge of all the duties of the 
Christian life. Indeed, the lively, devoted Chris- 
tian finds in his closet a fountain of living waters* 
in partaking of which, his soul is daily refreshed' 
and satisfied, and prepared to " endure hardness as 
a good soldier of Jesus Christ" It is preeminently 
true in regard to his secret devotions, that by " wait- 
ing on the Lord he renews his strength," and, filled 
with the Holy Spirit, is enabled to " mount up as. 



40 CAUSES OF 

on eagles' wings ; to run and not be weary ; to 
walk, and not faint." And can he neglect an exer- 
cise so conducive to his preservation from sin, and 
to his growth in grace without experiencing a sad 
decline in his spiritual condition ? This neglect is, 
unquestionably, one cause of the low state of reli- 
gion among us. The result of it is an entire desti- 
tution of the means of defence against our spiritual 
foes. There is nothing like intercourse with God in 
the closet to fortify us against the allurements of 
the world, the assaults of the prince of darkness, 
or the depraved dispositions of our own hearts. Be- 
sides, we may lay it down as a rule that, watching 
and praying go together. We never watch as we 
ought, unless we pray. Watching, without pray- 
ing, is a presumptuous reliance on our own wisdom 
and strength, and, of course, contributes nothing to 
our safety. If we watch aright, we have a deep 
sense of our own insufficiency, and of our depend- 
ence on Him in whom are boundless knowledge and 
everlasting strength. It is the vigilance of one 
whose soul is filled with adoring thoughts of the all- 
pervading presence and agency of Jehovah ; and 
who, while disposed to walk amid surrounding dan- 
gers with a cautious circumspection, feels that his 
help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven 
and earth. And this holy vigilance, which, as we 
have seen, implies a punctual and faithful discharge 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 41 

of closet duties, is one of our best securities against 
defection ; nay, without a good degree of it, no 
Christian was ever able to maintain a close and 
humble walk with God. An unwatchful frame of 
mind is the almost certain precursor of declension 
and apostasy. 

There is another point of view in which the neg- 
lect of secret prayer may account in a very satis- 
factory manner for the present low state of reli- 
gion among us. There is scarce any duty the omis- 
sion of which is more offensive to God. It involves 
a most criminal disregard of his favor, and of the 
manifestations of that love which he bears to his 
people. Suppose a man of very high rank in socie- 
ty, and of distinguished excellence, both intellectua 
and moral, should manifest to me a peculiar attach- 
ment ; should release me from prison and from 
chains, at a very great expense, should raise me to 
an honourable post in the community ; and, among 
other tokens of his favor, should invite me to pass 
half an hour with him in retirement, every morn- 
ing and evening, for the purpose of free conver- 
sation on subjects intimately connected with my 
present happiness and future prospects. Suppose 
that, for several months, I am punctual in my com- 
pliance with his generous invitation. I repair to 
the mansion where he resides, every morning and 
evening, and am always greeted with a hearty wel- 



f 

42 CAUSES OF 

come. He meets me at the door, takes me by the 
hand, leads me to his presence-chamber, converses 
with me in the most condescending and gracious 
manner, gives me his best advice in all my perplex- 
ities, sympathizes with me in all my sorrows and 
joys, and kindly proffers his assistance whenever I 
may need it. And suppose that, during the w r hole 
time of my intimacy with him, he has not, in a 
single instance, given me the least ground for dis- 
satisfaction. Suppose again, that, after the expira- 
tion of a few months, becoming tired of these inter- 
views, I neglect to repair to the house of my gener- 
ous friend, and do not see him in private for a long 
time. What must be his feelings ? How pungent 
the sense he must have of my baseness and folly ! 
How vile the ingratitude which, in his estimation, 
my conduct betrays ! And how little reason shall 
I have to wonder if, provoked by so outrageous a 
violation of generosity and friendship, he resolve to 
withdraw the tokens of his favor from me, and leave 
me to sink into the state of sbscurity and wretched- 
ness from which he had raised me ! Nor should I 
at all mend the matter by frequently attending 
his levee, and saluting him there with seeming cor- 
diality, as though nothing unpleasant had happened 
between us. Would he deign to give me his hand, 
or any token of his favor ? Nay, would he not con- 
sider this show of friendship to him in public, as the 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 



43 



grossest insult which I could offer him 1 And, in- 
stead of honoring me with a place among his favor- 
ites, would he not spurn me from his presence, as 
deserving nothing but the severest tokens of his 
displeasure ? It is hardly necessary for me to ap- 
ply this similitude to the point in hand. This the 
judicious reader has already done, and he has at 
the same time observed that the figure, though in 
many respects a striking one, falls far short, as it 
necessarily must, of adequately representing the 
case before us. The goodness of the benefactor, 
and the baseness of the individual supposed to be in- 
debted to his bounty, bear no proportion, on the 
one hand, to the goodness of God ; or, on the other, 
to the baseness of those Christians, who, tired of 
communion with him. neglect, for weeks and months, 
to meet him in the closet. And can we wonder if, 
thus slighted and abused, he withhold from such un- 
grateful creatures the communications of his grace, 
and leave them destitute of the light of his counte- 
nance and the joy of his salvation ? 



44 CAUSES OF 

CHAPTER VI. 

Temporal Prosperity. 

It is the saying of an inspired apostle, that " the 
goodness of God leadeth unto repentance." This 
is, no doubt, its natural tendency. And when holy 
affections exert a governing influence over us, re- 
pentance, and that obedience which repentance ne- 
cessarily implies, are invariably produced in us by 
every exhibition of divine goodness, and, conse- 
quently by that temporal prosperity which we so 
frequently enjoy ; for this is, in all cases, to be ascri- 
bed to the goodness of God. Whatever efforts we 
make for promoting our temporal welfare, our suc- 
cess is invariably owing to the smiles of his provi- 
dence. 

That ungodly men, instead of being brought to 
repentance by the temporal blessings which divine 
goodness bestows upon them, are, on the contrary, 
rendered more bold and presumptuous in their sin- 
ful courses, the inspired volume abundantly testifies. 
In the book of Job, it is said, " Wherefore do the 
wicked live, become old ; yea, are mighty in pow- 
er? Their seed is established before them, and 
their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are 
safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 45 

They send forth their little ones like a flock, 

and their children dance. They take the timbrel 
and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ/ 
In other words, they are men whom the goodness 
of God has blessed with abundant prosperity. And 
what effect does this prosperity have upon them ? 
Does it lead them up to God as the bountiful be- 
stower of every good ? No, truly. " They say 
unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the 
knowledge of thy ways. Who is the Almighty, 
that we should serve him ? And what profit shall 
we have if we pray unto him V A similar com- 
plaint is made by the author of the 73d psalm. He is 
speaking of "the ungodly, who prosper in the world, 
and increase in riches." And he tells us " they are 
not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued 
like other men." Nay, " their eyes stand out with 
fatness ; they have more than heart could wish." 
And do they acknowledge and adore the gracious 
hand which has so signally blessed them ? No ; 
" they set their mouth against the heavens, and say, 
how doth God know ? and is there knowledge in 
the Most High ?" The same affecting truth is ex- 
hibited in that saying of the wise man, " Because 
sentence against an evil work is not speedily exe- 
cuted, therefore the heart of the sons of men is 
fully set in them to do evil ;" in which passage, the 
goodness of God, in sparing sinful men, and contin- 

5 



46 CAUSES OP 

uing to bestow upon them the blessings of his pro- 
vidence, is assigned as a reason of their hardening 
themselves against him, and filling up the measure 
of their iniquity. Instances of this kind have existed 
in all past ages ; and they are to be met with in 
abundance at the present day. 

" But is it true that God's people ever abuse his 
goodness in this manner ?" At first view, we should 
probably all suppose the thing impossible. That 
the heart which has been humbled before God, and 
subdued by the power of his grace, should be 
chargeable with a fault so directly contrary to the 
spirit of piety, we could hardly believe. Judging 
from the nature of that holy love which is the es- 
sence of real piety, it would seem evident that the 
manifestation of divine goodness in providence, as 
well as in redemption, must always melt the heart 
of the regenerated man, and inspire him with emo- 
tions of penitence and gratitude. We should draw 
the same conclusion from the effect which we know 
is actually produced on the humbled sinner when 
he first gives himself to Christ. Among the most 
powerful means employed for subduing and melting 
his heart, we may reckon the view afforded him of 
the love of God in sending his Son to die for sin- 
ners. Nothing seems to affect him so much as the 
strength, the freeness, and the sovereignty of that 
Jove. It appears to involve reasons for love and 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 47 

gratitude, on his part, and also for contrition and 
obedience, which are quite irresistible. Nor is the 
humbled sinner, unaffected with the goodness of God 
as manifested in providence. He is greatly affected 
to think how long he has been spared, and sustained, 
and blessed with health, and food, and raiment, and 
friends, and prosperity, in his secular pursuits, while 
his heart has been opposed to the divine govern- 
ment, and his conduct in a multitude of instances, a 
most direct and palpable violation of the divine com- 
mands. And he cannot believe that the goodness of 
God, as manifested, either in providence or re- 
demption, can ever have a different effect upon 
him. 

Still, nothing is more evident than that the good- 
ness of God, as manifested in the temporal prosper- 
ity which he affords, may be abused, not only by the 
ungodly, but by pious and holy men, in direct con- 
trariety to all the sanctified affections of their 
hearts. 

There can be no doubt that it was under the in- 
fluence of temporal prosperity that David was 
prompted to the commission of those sins which so 
sadly tarnished his religious character, and inflicted 
so deep a wound on the cause of God. Not long, it 
seems, previous to his fall, he had been remarkably 
successful in the wars he had waged against the 
surrounding nations. The Philistines, the Moab- 



48 



CAUSES OF 



ites, and the Syrians, at that time a powerful nation, 
had been recently subdued. And " David," says 
the inspired historian, " gat him a name, when he 
returned from smiting the Syrians in the valley of 
Salt, being eighteen thousand men. And he put gar- 
risons in Edom ; throughout all Edom put he garri- 
sons ; and all they of Edom became David's servants. 
And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he 
went." And while he had this great success in his 
wars with other nations, there was no revolt among 
his own subjects. They were all, it would seem, 
satisfied with his government, and attached to his 
interest. It is, accordingly, added, that " David 
reigned over all Israel." And what is the effect 
of this signal prosperity on the mind of this great 
and good man ? Is he thankful, and humble, and 
obedient, to the divine commands ? No, truly. He 
is chargeable with seduction, and adultery, and mur- 
der ; under circumstances, too, which render his 
guilt uncommonly great and aggravated. Do any 
doubt whether the rapidity with which, by the as- 
sistance of divine providence, he had risen from one 
stage of royal greatness to another, was the occa- 
sion of the signal apostasy with which he was 
chargeable ? Let them consider in what manner 
he conducted himself, before the period of his pros- 
perity commenced. From the time he was anoint- 
ed by Samuel to that in which he ascended the 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 49 

throne of Judah, he was generally in a very afflict- 
ed state. Hunted by Saul as a partridge on the 
mountains, and exposed to hardships and dangers 
innumerable ; nay, sometimes compelled to fly 
from his native land, and seek an asylum among 
the enemies of Israel, his condition was' as trying 
as can well be imagined. And during all this time* 
he acted the part of a humble, pious man, devoted 
to the interests of religion and of his country. Nor 
have we any reason to doubt but that he would have 
pursued the same course to the end of life, had not 
the great temporal prosperity with which divine 
providence indulged him, corrupted his mind, and 
led him astray from the path of wisdom. 

We may say much the same in regard to Solo- 
mon, the son and successor of David. His defec- 
tion is indeed ascribed to the influence of the " out- 
landish women" belonging to his court. But we 
cannot, I think, suppose that they would ever have 
induced him to promote the abominable idolatries 
of the heathen, by building temples to Moloch, and 
Chemosh, and Milcom, had not his heart been cor- 
rupted by the unexampled prosperity which he had 
previously enjoyed. 

The case of Hezekiah is much in point. He was, 

we know, an eminently pious and godly man, and 

one of the best princes who ever swayed a sceptre 

over the kindom of Judah. He did much to cleanse 

5* 



50 CAUSES OF 

his country from the impurities of idolatry, and to 
restore the worship of Jehovah among his subjects 
And during the invasion under Sennacherib, king of 
Assyria, he showed himself to be, indeed, a servant 
of the living God. Of this, the memorable prayer 
which he offered up in the temple, on that trying 
occasion, furnishes the most satisfactory proof. But 
the honor done him by the king of Babylon, who 
sent a solemn embassy to congratulate him on ac- 
count of his recovery from his late sickness, and to 
inquire respecting the wonder done in the land, 
when the sun returned ten degrees backward, ope- 
rated most injuriously on his spiritual feelings. " His 
heart was lifted up to his destruction," instead of be- 
ing expanded with gratitude to God. Finding him- 
self placed on the list of the great men of the earth, 
he forgot the gracious hand which had delivered 
him from the Assyrian invasion, and rescued him 
from sickness and death. O how dangerous to the 
soul is that honor which cometh from man ! Like 
every other kind of temporal prosperity, it frequent- 
ly becomes the means of corrupting the heart, and 
turning it away from God. 

The ancient Jewish church furnishes a very strik- 
ing illustration of the subject before us. You will 
find a passage much to our present purpose, in Mo- 
ses' song, recorded in the 32d chapter of Deuteron- 
omy. " Remember the days of old ; consider the 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 51 

years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he 
will show thee ; thy elders, and they will tell thee. 
When the Most High divided to the nations their 
inheritance ; when he separated the sons of Adam, 
he set the bounds of the people according to the 
number of the children of Israel." That is, he had 
from the beginning, marked out Palestine, " the glo- 
ry of all lands," as the destined possession of his 
chosen people. It is, accordingly, added, " For the 
Lord's portion is his people ; Jacob is the lot of his 
inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in a 
waste howling wilderness ; he led him about, he in- 
structed him ; he kept him as the apple of his eye. 
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her 
young, spreadeth abroad her wings ; taketh them, 
beareth them upon her wings ; so the Lord alone 
did lead him, and there was no strange God with 
him," to challenge a part of the glory due to him on 
account of what he had done for Israel. It is add- 
ed, " He made him ride on the high places of the 
earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields ; 
and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and 
oil out of the flinty rock ; butter of kine and milk of 
sheep, with the fat of lambs and rams, of the breed 
of Basham, and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of 
wheat ; and thou didst drink of the pure blood of the 
grape." Thus highly is Israel blessed of God. No 
other nation ever enjoyed such tokens of his favor. 



52 CAUSES OF 

And what returns do they make to Jehovah for these 
manifestions of his goodness 1 Are they grateful 
and obedient in proportion to the prosperity with 
which he has indulged them ? No, that very pros- 
perity is the principal occasion of their departure 
from the Lord. " Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked ; 
thou art waxed fat ; thou are grown thick ; thou 
art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God 
that made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his 
salvation." 

Such was the effect of temporal prosperity on the 
Jewish church. The Christian church was affect- 
ed by it in much the same way. She lost her spir- 
ituality and purity in consequence of the emolu- 
ments and honors lavished upon her by Constantine 
the Great, and some of his successors. This was 
the real origin of the great apostasy in the Christian 
church — an apostasy which changed the spouse 
of Christ into " the mother of harlots and abomina- 
tions of the earth." 

With all these facts before us, can we deem it 
incredible that the church in these United States 
should be injured in the same way? Perhaps no nation 
ever enjoyed a greater share of temporal prosperity 
than ours has generally done, since the close of our 
revolutionary conflict. Blessed with the freest gov- 
ernment on the face of the earth, with wise and sal- 
utary laws, and with almost unexampled success in 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 53 

the various departments of peaceful industry, we 
have risen with great rapidity to wealth and power. 
And in this sudden elevation of rank and fortune, 
the members of our churches have had a share. 
Great numbers who profess religion, and many, no 
doubt, who are Christians indeed, have risen to em- 
inence as merchants and as statesmen, and conse- 
quently have been exposed to the contaminating in- 
fluence of wealth and honor on the human heart. — 
The same influence has been felt on a smaller scale, 
but with almost equally injurious effects, by such of 
our farmers and mechanics as profess to be the fol- 
lowers of Christ. Indeed, it has been felt through 
almost every part of the religious community, and 
has greatly increased a worldly spirit. Alas, how 
many professors of religion most evidently look to 
the things which are seen and temporal, rather than 
to those which are unseen and eternal ! Basking 
in the sunshine of prosperity, they speak, and act, 
and feel, like those " who have their portion in this 
life," and who consider the riches, honors, and plea- 
sures of the world as the chief good. 



54 CAUSES OF 

CHAPTER VII. 

Desecration of the Sabbath. 

" The Sabbath," our Lord assures us, " was made 
for man." It is an institution designed, and pre-emi- 
nently adapted, to promote the best interests of the 
human race. It is especially beneficial because, 
when properly observed, it contributes to the pre- 
servation and increase in the minds of men of that 
sense of religion, on which their happiness, both 
here and hereafter, so much depends. The regular 
return of a day of holy rest, after six days devoted 
to the business of the world, is a rich blessing to 
mankind by affording leisure for meditation and 
prayer, and reading the word of God, in private ; 
and also for those public exercises of devotion which 
usually characterize the observance of the Sabbath 
in Christian lands. Accordingly, the people of God> 
when blessed with much of his Spirit, never fail to 
rejoice in the return of the Sabbath : and they gen- 
erally obtain that refreshment to their souls, the rel- 
ish of which is not lost during the remainder of the 
week. 

It is however true, Jhat the benefit resulting from 
the Sabbath depends on the manner in which it is 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 55 

kept. Every deviation from the requisite strictness 
detracts from the utility of the institution. I am not 
indeed about to assert, that Christians are bound to 
observe the Sabbath in all respects with the same 
degree of strictness which was enjoined under the 
Mosaic economy. We are not, for example, forbid- 
den, as the ancient Israelites were, to kindle a fire 
on the Sabbath. The condition of the Jewish 
church resembled that of a child during its 
minority, when a variety of restraints are ne- 
cessary which cannot, without manifest impropri- 
ety, be continued after the individual has arrived at 
adult age. This remark I derive from St. Paul. 
In his epistle to the Galatian Christians, after say- 
ing, " And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise," the apos- 
tle adds, " Now the heir, so long as he is a child, 
differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord 
of all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the 
time appointed of the father. Even so we, when 
we were children, were in bondage under the ele- 
ments of the world." Accordingly, St. Peter speaks 
of the ceremonial law as " a yoke which," says he, 
"neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." 
One of the restraints which this yoke embraced, con- 
sisted in the rigid exactness with which the observ- 
ance of the Sabbath was enjoined. And some Chris- 
tians, with good intentions no doubt, though certain- 
ly without any sufficient warrant from the word of 



56 CAUSES OF 

God, have in some respects imitated the strictness 
of the Jewish observance. But after making this 
concession, I must say, that, at the present time, the 
danger, and the only danger, appears to lie on the 
other side. The day, unquestionably, should be con- 
sidered as pre-eminently holy, and the whole of it, 
except what is devoted to works of necessity and 
mercy, should be employed in those religious exerci- 
ses, which are adapted to promote the salvation of 
the soul and the glory of God. 

In mentioning violations of the Sabbath, I shall 
not insist on those of the grossest kind. I shall say 
nothing, particularly of the habitual neglect of pub- 
lic worship on the Sabbath, or of employing the 
time in the business of the farm or of the shop, or in 
posting accounts, or in making bargains, or in wri- 
ting business letters, or in taking journeys, or in pre- 
paring sumptuous entertainments. For these are 
all such palpable violations of that holy day, that 
professors of religion who have any regard to their 
Christian character are not likely to be chargeable 
with them. But there is one practice which, though 
it is as real a violation of the Sabbath as any of the 
things just mentioned, seems to have escaped, with 
little or no censure, even among the generality of 
religious people. I allude to the practice of con- 
versing on topics of a secular nature, on the Sab- 
bath. I do not hesitate to call this a violation of the 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 57 

day. For I cannot conceive how it can be wrong 
to engage in worldly business on the Sabbath, and 
right to converse on worldly subjects. The latter 
exercise is, usually, more engrossing to the mind 
than the former ; and, consequently, tends propor- 
tionably more to call off the attention from God and 
heavenly things. The pious farmer can be follow- 
ing his plough, or repairing his fences, or sowing 
his seed, or gathering in the fruits of harvest, and 
at the same time be meditating on divine subjects. 
We can hardly say the same in relation to conver- 
sation on any subjects of a worldly nature. It gen- 
erally, while it continues, engages our principal, if 
not our whole, attention. It has of course, a much 
greater tendency than worldly business, to secular- 
ize the feelings of a pious man, and to draw off his 
thoughts from those momentous subjects to which 
on the Sabbath they ought to be exclusively direct- 
ed. Even on secular days, a great deal of time 
ought, in ordinary circumstances, to be spent in 
speaking one to another of the things of God. This 
we find is universally the case in times of revival ; 
and no substantial reason can be assigned why the 
same practice should not prevail at all other times. 
How guilty, then, must those professors of religion 
be, who, although they abstain on the Sabbath from 
worldly business, allow themselves to converse free- 
ly on politics, on the public news, on the state of 

6 



58 CAUSES Of 

the markets, on the fruits of the earth, and on other 
subjects of a similar nature ! And it deserves to 
be considered that this desecration of the Sabbath, 
on the part of professed Christians, is not confined 
to their own dwellings, or to those of their friends ; 
but frequently takes place in the environs and even 
within the precincts of the house of God ! How com- 
mon it is in many of our congregations for old and 
young, and professors of religion as well as others, 
to pass a large portion of the time, during the inter- 
mission of divine service, in conversing within and 
around the meeting-house, on worldly subjects! 
This is the more lamentable, not only because it is 
inconsistent with the acknowledged sacredness of 
the day, and with the reverence which we owe to 
the majesty of Him in whose house we are, or re- 
cently have been, assembled ; but because it tends 
directly and most effectually to prevent our deriving 
any substantial benefit from the offices of religion 
on which we are attending. If we spend Sabbath 
noon in this manner, can it be expected that we shall 
profit much by the services of the morning ? If any 
good impression was made on our minds by the 
sermon, or the other exercises, must it not be effa- 
ced by the manner of passing the hour, or hours, 
which immediately follow ? And what a poor pre- 
paration must this be for the services of the after- 
noon ! After conversing an hour or two, perhaps 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 59 

in a very lively manner, on the. affairs of the world, 
are our minds suitably prepared for hearing the glo- 
rious gospel, or for uniting in the songs and suppli- 
cations of Zion ? Would it not be better to pass 
the intermission in prayer, and praise, and spiritual 
conversation? Would not the benefit resulting 
from the Sabbath be far greater than it now, ordi- 
narily, is ? Should we not then " love the habita- 
tion of" God's " house and the place where his hon- 
or dwells" ? Would not our souls be refreshed, and 
be as a watered garden? And would not the 
preached word be far more beneficial than it is at 
present ? Would it not to the pious part of our 
assemblies, be "as the small rain upon the tender 
herb, and as showers upon the grass" ? And would 
it not be " quick and powerful" in the hearts of the 
ungodly, nay, " sharper than any two-edged sword" ? 
Oh how solemn and delightful would be our wor- 
shipping assemblies, if the whole Sabbath were de- 
voted to God ! And how great the influence which 
the Sabbath would in that case exert on the general 
state of religion in the church and in the world ! 
And how evident it must be to every reflecting 
mind, that our present mode of spending a portion 
of that holy day, tends, directly, to chill the ardor 
of piety, and to destroy the spirit and power of god- 
liness among us ! 



60 CAUSES OF 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Precipitancy in the admission of candidates to 
Church Fellowship. 

There is probably no church of orthodox Chris- 
tians which does not require of those who solicit her 
fellowship some account of the work of grace sup- 
posed to be wrought in their hearts. But there is 
much reason to fear that persons are frequently ad- 
mitted into the purest churches, without that close 
and thorough examination which ought to be em- 
ployed. This is true, particularly, in times of great 
religious excitement. At such seasons it is often 
difficult to distinguish true religion from its counter- 
feits. Persons who are not renewed by the grace 
of God, and who are not even the subjects of very 
deep convictions, are, not unfrequently, led to think 
seriously on the great subject of religion, to devote 
a considerable portion of their time to religious con- 
versation, and religious meetings, and are, indeed, so 
altered in their whole deportment, that it would seem 
uncharitable not to entertain a favorable opinion of 
them. They have, besides, so many opportunities 
of hearing real Christians relate the gracious exer- 
cises of their minds, that they obtain a general 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 61 

knowledge of Christian experience, and are able, if 
disposed, to play the hypocrite so adroitly, as to be 
in no great danger of detection, unless very thorough- 
ly examined. Nay, it seems highly probable that, 
under these circumstances, such persons often de- 
ceive themselves, and imagine that the exercises of 
their minds are of the same character with those 
which they hear related by real Christians. While 
reading the Bible, or hearing sermons, exhortations 
and prayers ; perhaps, while trying to pray them- 
selves, they have hopes and fears, joys and sorrows 
which seem to them exactly similar to those of the 
real converts with whom they associate. Hence 
when called upon to relate the feelings of their 
minds, they without scruple, and without intending 
to deceive, employ language expressive of real piety. 
Add to this, that ministers, and Christians general- 
ly, are peculiarly apt at such times to be more char- 
itable than they are on ordinary occasions. They 
feel a very deep interest in the religious state of per- 
sons of the above description ; they have frequently 
conversed and prayed with them, and have cher- 
ished strong desires and hopes in relation to the re- 
sult of their religious impressions. It cannot, there- 
fore, be wondered at, that when they profess sub- 
mission to the Saviour, they should be acknowledg- 
ed at once as his disciples. The ministers and 
brethren who have watched the progress of their 

6* 



6$ CAUSES OF 

convictions with such deep solicitude, and such 
cheering expectations, can hardly fail of being sat- 
isfied with indications of piety in these individuals 
which fall very much short of decisive evidence of 
a real and thorough change of heart. The result is 
that great numbers, especially of youth and children, 
are admitted into the Church, who in a short time 
manifest an entire destitution of the spirit and power 
of true religion. 

Does any one ask, what course should be pursued 
in cases of this kind? The answer is ready, let the 
minister and other members of the church prevail 
on themselves to wait a while, till their own minds 
are settled and composed, and till they have oppor- 
tunity of applying to these supposed converts the 
test mentioned by our Saviour — " By their fruits 
ye shall know them." This only can determine 
whether the precious seed has been received into 
good ground, or whether it has fallen into stony 
places, or among thorns. The latter, judging from 
the parable to which we have alluded, may, to all 
appearance, be as promising as the former. It springs 
up quickly, and looks green and flourishing. But af- 
ter awhile it is scorched or choked, and shows that 
no fruit is to be expected from it ; or, to use the lan- 
guage of an Old Testament prophet, " the root is 
rottenness, and the blossom goes up as dust." Alas ! 
how many instances of this kind have occurred, with- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 63 

in a few years past ! And how have the hopes of 
many a godly minister been disappointed, and how 
has his heart been pained, when the goodness of 
some whom he had fondly embraced as real con- 
verts, has proved to be transient like the morning 
cloud and the early dew ! Wait, then, till deci- 
sive evidence of piety can be obtained. 

Does any one object that the apostles and other 
members of the primitive Church did not wait ? — 
that the 3000 converted on the day of Pentecost 
were immediately admitted to church fellowship ?—*- 
that the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized without de- 
lay?— that Cornelius and his friends at Cesarea 
were not required to wait ? — and that the PhiJip- 
pian jailer and his family were baptized during the 
very night in which they were converted ? It may 
be replied, that the danger of deception was then 
comparatively small — that the Holy Spirit was 
poured out in very abundant measures — that in- 
stances of conversion were peculiarly marked and 
striking — and that the external circumstances of the 
church furnished a security against the intrusion of 
graceless persons which does not at present exist. 
The consideration last mentioned deserves to be 
particularly noted. There was but little probability 
that an individual, under the influence of a worldly 
spirit, would profess to be a disciple of Christ when 
his so doing exposed him to the loss of property, 



64 CAUSES OF 

of liberty, and of life. His joining himself to the 
persecuted band was one of the strongest proofs 
which could be furnished, or demanded, that Christ 
had been formed in him the hope of glory. The case 
is evidently different where a profession of the reli- 
gion of Christ subjects one to no reproach or in- 
convenience whatever ; nay, causes his temporal 
prospects to extend and brighten. 

But here it may be asked, " what connection has 
the admission of a few graceless persons into the 
church, with the low state of religion among us ?" 
In reply, I would remark, that such persons are, at 
best, a dead weight to the church in all her spirit- 
ual movements. Destitute, as they are, of spiritual 
life, their influence tends to chill the ardor of piety 
in all true Christians with whom they associate, to 
lull the wise virgins into a profound sleep, and to 
propagate among them that friendship of the world 
which is enmity with God. This is true, even 
though these unconverted persons remain ortho- 
dox in their views, and maintain a decent standing 
in society : a supposition which, in most cases, is 
highly improbable. As they have no spiritual light, 
they may be expected to embrace and propagate 
erroneous views of the gospel, and thereby lay the 
foundation for those schisms and controversies which 
dishonor the cause of truth, and destroy what little 
before existed of the vitality and power of religion 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 65 

in the church. Nor is this all. Ungodly men who 
make a profession of religion, are very apt, after a 
time, to fall into the practice of gross vice. They 
have no relish for that pure and sublime system of 
morality taught by our Saviour and his apostles. 
They may, indeed, sometimes pronounce encomiums 
upon it ; and so did the infidel and licentious Rousseau. 
But they are attached, firmly attached, to the max- 
ims and customs of the world that lies in wicked- 
ness. Hence, in process of time, they are wont to 
feel the restraints which Christianity imposes, as 
extremely irksome, and eventually to shake them 
off, as too injurious to their happiness to be endured. 
The result is that they become vicious and profli- 
gate in their conduct ; and by their unholy practices 
not only dishonor the religion of Christ and grieve 
the hearts of his true disciples, but accelerate the 
progress of the unconverted around them in the 
road to death. A principal reason why there is so 
little seriousness in persons who make no preten- 
sions to piety is, that many who belong to the church 
demonstrate by their unholy lives, that the sublime 
doctrines and precepts of the gospel, have no sanc- 
tifying influence upon them. To all this may be 
added, that the admission of unconverted people in- 
to the church, raises an almost insurmountable ob- 
stacle in the way of that wholesome discipline which 
Christ and his apostles instituted, and without which 



66 CAUSES OF 

the purest temple of the living God, must soon re- 
semble a synagogue of Satan. When many of the 
members of a church are destitute of piety ; or when 
this is true of a small number only, provided they 
be persons of rank and influence, discipline will either 
be wholly neglected, or will be administered in such 
a manner as to be pernicious rather than beneficial. 
It will be characterized by a supercilious, harsh, bit- 
ter, censorious spirit, and by that unchristian par- 
tiality which is of itself sufficient to ruin the peace 
and prosperity of any church. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Violent Religious Excitements. 

That there is a tendency in human nature to in- 
dolence and inactivity, after a season of unusual ex- 
citement, is a truth universally admitted. This im- 
perfection, for such it unquestionably is, exists in our 
physical and intellectual constitution, and also in 
those gracious principles which the Lord has im- 
planted in the hearts of his people by the holy Spir- 
it. These principles, it is true, need to be excited ; 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 67 

and when the excitement is not too violent, its ten- 
dency is to increase their strength. But when, as 
sometimes happens, the strength of these principles 
is much inferior to that of the stimulating powers 
which are brought to bear upon them, they are over- 
wrought, and lose the healthful and vigorous tone 
which they naturally possess. They resemble a 
bow which is overstrained, or the human body when 
greatly fatigued, by too severe and long-continued 
exercise. And while gracious principles are thus 
weakened, the principles of sin existing in the heart 
are wont, in consequence of the temporary restraint 
put upon them, to become more powerful and im- 
petuous. They resemble the current of a brook in- 
creased to a torrent by obstructions thrown in its 
way. The truth of these remarks has been clearly 
demonstrated, within a few years past, by numer- 
ous facts in relation both to individuals and to 
churches.* 



* The practice of holding protracted meetings, has, of late 
years, become very common in our country. In some instances, 
these meetings have been continued for several weeks in succes- 
sion with no intervals, except those indispensable for taking sus- 
tenance and sleep. Meanwhile, every effort has been made by 
preachers of distinguished talents and zeal, to excite the attention 
of both saints and sinners to the momentous subject of religion. 
The eternal joys of heaven, and the eternal miseries of hell, have 
been described in the most graphic manner, and with all the pa- 



68 CAUSES OP 



CHAPTER X. 

Prevalence of the opinion that the influence of reli- 
gious principle cannot be expected, in most cases, 
to be steady and constant. 

Religion, with a large portion of professed Chris- 
tians, is in a great measure confined to places of 
worship, or to seasons of revival. While attending 
on the preaching of the gospel, and uniting in the 

thos of sacred eloquence. The saint has been made to feel the 
greatness of his own guilt, in neglecting to labor for the salvation 
of sinners, while the latter have been so assailed with prayers and 
exhortations and warnings from every quarter, that an unnatural 
effervescence of their passions has been produced, and has left 
them scarce any possibility of obtaining those clear, distinct, and 
scriptural views of the perfections of God, and of their own guilt 
as transgressors of his law, so essential to all those religious im- 
pressions which are likely to be permanent and saving. It is, of 
course, not strange that after such a season of excitement, the 
minds of both saints and sinners should pass into the opposite ex- 
treme, and should, for a time, be as much characterized by apathy, 
as they previously were by zeal and fervor. 

" Are protracted meetings, then, to be denounced as prejudicial 
to the cause of piety V By no means. When rightly conducted, 
they have done good ; and, when thus conducted, they are likely 
to do good hereafter. The writer has attended several of these 
meetings, which received his decided approbation. But they were 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 69 

songs and supplications of Zion, they feel condem- 
ned if their affections are not excited, and if emotions 
which at least resemble those of piety, are not pro- 
duced. But when engaged in their secular affairs, 
they feel but little concern to have their hearts re- 
plenished with the fear and love of God, or their 
minds occupied with the contemplation of the great 
truths of religion. Their thoughts are generally en- 
grossed with secular business — with schemes for 
amassing wealth, or attaining to posts of honor, — 

characterized by & solemn stillness, on the part of the audience, 
and by a steady effort on that of officiating ministers to make sin- 
ners realize the equity of God's moral government, the entire rea- 
sonableness of his requirements, and the baseness and criminality 
involved in the transgression of his laws. These points, together 
with the great love of God in sending his Son to suffer and die for 
sinners, were prominent topics of discourse, and were exhibited in 
a manner adapted to enlist the understanding, the conscience, and 
the heart, on the side of God and holiness. There was at these 
meetings a deep interest manifested in religious exercises. The 
sermons, though some of them were read, were listened to with 
that profound attention, which indicated an earnest desire to hear 
and obey the truth ; and each individual present seemed to feel 
that eternity with all its dread realities was at the door. But there 
were no convulsive agonies, no interruptions of divine worship by 
the exclamations of the distressed, and no violent ebullition of the 
passions in any form. The convictions of the understanding evi- 
dently took the lead, and the religious feelings which followed 
seemed nothing more than the necessary results of divine truth ap- 
plied to the conscience and the heart by the Spirit of God. 

7 



70 CAUSES OP 

or with contrivances for procuring those earthly- 
pleasures which though generally considered as in- 
nocent and creditable, have no tendency to raise 
the soul to God, or prepare it for the great duties of 
the Christian life. If you introduce the subject of 
religion to persons of this description, they do not, 
perhaps, refuse to converse upon it ; especially, if 
you manifest a willingness to discourse in a specu- 
lative way. But if you press on their attention the 
importance of a holy life — of a daily and hourly con- 
secration of the heart to God, of having a regard to 
his glory in all they do, of living as strangers and 
pilgrims on the earth, and of directing all their aims 
and exertions to things beyond the grave — they are 
usually silent, or barely assent to the truth of what 
you say. They manifest no disposition to prolong 
discourse of this kind. It is a strain of conversa- 
tion in which they feel no interest. But the mo- 
ment you introduce some worldly subject, they are 
sufficiently ready to perform their part in the dis- 
cussion of it. They now speak with interest and 
earnestness, as from the fulness of their hearts, and 
seem never tired while topics of this kind are the 
subjects of discourse. In this manner they pass 
along from month to month, and from year to year, 
thinking and speaking almost exclusively of earthly 
things ; except when the stated seasons of public 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 71 

worship call up their attention to subjects of a dif- 
ferent kind. And they do not seem to realize that 
the predominance of this worldly spirit is, in any 
considerable degree, offensive to God, or prejudicial 
to themselves. At any rate, they do not appear to 
entertain any just conception of the great blemish 
which the habitual indulgence of such a spirit fixes 
on their Christian character, or the immense injury 
done to their own souls by suffering the world to 
engross so large a portion of their time and thoughts. 
Persons, however, of the above description are 
not satisfied with being always in this condition. 
They imagine that a real Christian must sometimes 
live in a manner more spiritual and more devoted to 
God. He must, they suppose, have his seasons of 
revival, in which for days, and weeks, and months, 
religion is uppermost in his thoughts, and in which 
he is almost exclusively employed, either in devo- 
tional exercises, or in conversation on divine sub- 
jects. And such seasons these persons actually have. 
Once in ten or twelve years, perhaps oftener, a re- 
vival is enjoyed in the place where they reside. Re- 
ligious meetings are frequent and well attended. 
The spirit of piety which had long slumbered, seems 
to awake, and the church hears the voice of her God 
and Saviour, saying, " Arise, shine ; for thy light is 
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee ;" 
and many who were previously dead in trespasses 



72 CAUSES Of 

and sins, are blessed with spiritual life, and begin to 
sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. At such a 
time the professors of religion whose characters we 
are delineating, are generally aroused, confess that 
they have been long in a cold, backslidden state, and 
express a determination to shake off their guilty 
slumbers, and live more devoted to Christ than they 
have hitherto done. They accordingly attend re- 
ligious meetings almost every day in the week ; and 
when at meeting, seem full of pious fervor ; they 
pray and exhort in a very earnest manner ; and 
seem determined to make amends for the many 
years of sloth and negligence which had previously 
passed over them. At these seasons, besides, their 
conversation is generally on religious subjects ; and 
if they meet with any professor of religion who is 
not as warm and lively as themselves, they are al- 
most ready to blot him out of their list of pious peo- 
ple, and can hardly think that he ever knew the grace 
of God in truth. In this manner they proceed till 
the revival begins to abate, and the external excite- 
ments to devotion and fervor are somewhat dimin- 
ished, when they rapidly decline, and soon return to 
the state from which they emerged when the revi- 
val commenced. In a few months, perhaps in a few 
weeks, they are as much engrossed with the world, 
as neglectful of religious meetings, and, to all ap- 
pearance as destitute of the spirit of religion, as they 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 73 

ever were. And so they continue some ten or 
twelve years, till another revival overtakes them, 
when they are again aroused, again confess their 
faults, and, indeed, act over almost exactly the same 
part which they acted ten or twelve years before. 
And such changes, they seem to imagine, are things 
of course. They can hardly conceive the possibili- 
ty of a constant and steady walk with God. And 
though they condemn themselves as somewhat 
blameable, for their backslidings, they seem to sup- 
pose that there is a kind of fatality in the case ; 
that a steady and uniform course of piety is not to 
be expected ; and that the genuineness of their re- 
ligion, and the safety of their state ought not to be 
mailed in question, on account of these blemishes in 
their christian character. 

In making these remarks, the writer is anxious 
that he may not be misunderstood. He does not 
mean to say, that the above picture will suit every 
professor of religion in our country. No ; he be- 
lieves there are thousands of different denomina- 
tions who maintain from year to year a close and 
humble walk with God — thousands who are not 
merely constant in the external performance of mo- 
ral and religions duties, but manifest a strong at- 
tachment to the cause of truth, and an unwavering 
determination to be for Christ and for none else. 

Yes, he believes that there are thousands in this land, 

7* 



74 CAUSES OF 

who feel that religion ought to be the main business 
of every day, and who steadily endeavor to live to 
the glory of God, in seasons of declension, as well 
as in seasons of revival. But, unless he is greatly 
mistaken, the picture above drawn will suit a very 
large portion of the Christian community. Their 
religion begins and ends, in a great measure, with 
the revivals which take place around them. When 
there is no special attention paid to the things of God 
in the place where they reside, they very much re- 
semble the men of the world, both in spirit and con- 
duct. They can hardly be said to maintain the 
form of godliness ; and as to its power, scarce any 
thing of this can be seen in them for years in suc- 
cession. Indeed, if these persons are Christians, 
(and it is believed that some of them are.) they can 
hardly be distinguished, a large portion of the time, 
from many who are dead in trespasses and sins. 
And, as already intimated, they seem to imagine that 
it must be so ; that a constant, steady, uniform walk 
with God, is not to be expended in the great body 
of professed Christians. Now this is evidently a 
mistake, and a mistake of most pernicious influence. 
It tends much to diminish the efforts which Chris- 
tians are bound to make for preserving and increas- 
ing in their own hearts, and in the hearts of their 
brethren, the spirit of piety, and for preventing those 
long-continued spiritual decays, so injurious to them- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 75 

selves and the cause of Christ. As long as they 
imagine it is impossible, or nearly so, for a Chris- 
tian to be uniformly devoted to God, they are very 
likely to yield to the current of worldly influence 
which sets against them, and, of course, to do but 
little for promoting their own salvation, or that of 
others. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Perversion of the Doctrine of Grace. 

The doctrine which asserts that the salvation of 
a sinner is altogether of the grace of God, is a most 
glorious truth — a truth which lies at the foundation 
of the Christian scheme, and which, if rightly under- 
stood, is admirably adapted, not only to afford con- 
solation to the renewed heart, but to subdue the 
power of sin, and make men holy in all manner of 
conversation. But this great and precious doctrine, 
like every other good thing, is liable to be abused ; 
and it is abused by multitudes of professed Chris- 
tians at the present day ; nay, by many who, in a 
judgment of charity, are Christians in deed and in 



76 CAUSES OF 

truth. They seem to draw from the doctrine the 
conclusion that it is unnecessary for them to make 
any vigorous efforts for their own salvation or that 
of others. Feeling assured that, wherever God be- 
gins a good work, he will carry it on, and that he is 
working in them both to will and to do of his own 
good pleasure, they seem not to realize the neces- 
sity imposed on them of working out their own 
salvation with fear and trembling. They appear 
to entertain the idea, that, if they do any thing more 
than look on, and admire and adore the grace of 
God, a part of the glory of their salvation must be 
due to themselves, and, consequently, that the whole 
glory will not be due to God. But such views are 
not authorized by the Bible, or by the analogy of na- 
ture. In the Bible we meet with many exhortations 
to vigorous and persevering efforts for advancing 
the influence of piety in our souls. We find this 
holy book urging Christians to " mortify their mem- 
bers which are on the earth" — to " crucify the flesh 
with its affections and lusts" — to " put off the old 
man which is corrupt, and to put on the new man 
which after God is created in righteousness and true 
holiness." Nay, it exhorts us to " cleanse ourselves 
from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting ho- 
liness in the fear of God." It represents the Chris- 
tian life as a pilgrimage, a race, a warfare ; all of 
which similitudes convey the idea that it is not a life 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 77 

of idleness and ease, but of laborious exertion ; and 
it promises eternal life on no other condition than 
that of being " faithful unto death," and overcoming 
the numerous and formidable obstacles which lie in 
our way. It teaches us the same great truth by ex- 
hibiting the example of eminent saints. Thus it 
represents Paul as saying, " Brethren, I count not 
myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I 
do ; forgetting the things that are behind, and reach- 
ing forth to those things which are before, I press 
toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus." St. Paul felt that he must 
exert himself to the utmost, if he would obtain the 
blessedness of heaven. And he does not seem to 
have even surmised, that there was any inconsist- 
ency between the necessity of his own exertions in 
this great affair, and the doctrine that " eternal life is 
the gift of God, through Jesus Christ." 

And these views derived from the infallible word 
of God, are in perfect accordance with the analo- 
gy of nature. It is a certain truth that the tempo- 
ral blessings which we enjoy all come from the hand 
of God, and are to be acknowledged as the fruits 
of his bounty. The husbandman is indebted to God 
for the soil he cultivates, for the manure by which 
it is enriched, for the genial influences of the sun, 
and for the fructifying showers of rain with which 
he is ordinarily blessed. He is indebted to God, 



78 CAUSES OF 

too, for all the skill and strength which he possesses, 
and for the disposition he has to labor for his own 
subsistence. His being provided, therefore, with 
the necessaries and comforts of life, ought to be as- 
cribed to the goodness of God. Still, what hus- 
bandman supposes it is of no importance for him to 
cultivate his farm ? He does not say, " It is all of 
God, and therefore I will do nothing." No ; as 
soon as the Spring opens, he repairs his fences, 
ploughs and manures his grounds, and sows his 
seed. Nor does he on any other condition expect 
a crop. He knows that he must sow in tears, if he 
would reap in joy. And when he pursues this 
course, he usually obtains the object of his wishes. 
The summer is fruitful, and the harvest plenteous. 
Now, the same holds in regard to our spiritual con- 
cerns. Our salvation is all of God's grace. This 
is a truth most cheerfully admitted. But it is a truth 
equally plain and certain, that the grace of God does 
not supersede the necessity of human efforts. The 
soul of each Christian may be called his garden. 
This garden must be ploughed. The fallow ground 
must be broken up, and good seed, even the word 
of God must be sown in it. And when the seed 
springs up and grows, care must be taken to prevent 
the noxious weeds of error and sin from raising 
their heads, and choking the plants of righteousness 
which are growing there. Now what man thinks 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 79 

of leaving it to God to pull up the weeds in his gar- 
den, or to cultivate the valuable plants which are 
growing in it ? He expects rain and sun-shine from 
God, and the strength and skill which he needs in 
the management of his business. But he never 
thinks of excusing himself from his rustic labors, 
from a persuasion that God either can, or will, do all 
without him. And if he did, you know what the 
consequence must be. His lands, untilled and neg- 
lected, would resemble those described by Solo- 
mon. " I went," says he, " by the field of the slothful, 
and by the vineyard of the man void of understand- 
ing. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and 
nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone 
wall thereof was broken down." So it is with the 
heart f many a professor of religion. It but too 
much resembles the field of the slothful. The thorns 
and nettles of unholy affections and imaginations are 
growing in rank luxuriance. And if you look for the 
plants of righteousness, you look almost in vain. Here 
and there, perhaps, may be seen a single stalk of pre- 
cious grain, slender, and of sickly appearance, and 
almost choked by the thorns and nettles which are 
spreading themselves around it. At the same time 
that holy watchfulness which, like a hedge or wall, 
once defended the heart against the intrusion of eve- 
ry enemy, can hardly be said to exist. Nor does 
there seem to be any thing to prevent the Christian's 



80 CAUSES OF 

foes from entering and treading down this garden of 
the Lord. If they do not, it is owing to the special 
interposition of his mercy and power. And let 
it not be forgotten that this deplorable state of the 
Christian's heart is owing, in a great measure, to a 
perversion of the doctrine of grace. It must be 
owing to a perversion of that glorious doctrine. 
The rich and sovereign grace revealed in the gos- 
pel was doubtless intended, not to supersede, but to 
aid and strengthen our efforts in the cause of truth. 
I will not indeed say, that if it had this effect on the 
Christian professor, his heart would be always in 
an equally good state. There might possibly, even 
then, be seasons of spiritual drought — seasons just 
long enough to make him feel that all his sufficiency 
was of God. But his heart would still be well re- 
plenished with the seeds of truth and the plants of 
righteousness. The noxious weeds of error and sin 
would be rooted out, as fast as they showed them- 
selves ; and the heart would resemble a well fenced 
and well cultivated garden which needed nothing 
but a plentiful shower and the benign influences of 
the sun to render it all which its owner could de- 
sire. It is hardly necessary to add, that what has 
been said of individual Christians, is true of churches. 
One great reason why they are, frequently, in such a 
feeble, barren, disordered state, is, that they have 
perverted the doctrine of grace by a slothful neglect 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 81 

of the means which God has appointed for promo- 
ting their order, strength, and fruitfulness. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The manner in which Christian Ministers often 
spend their time when out of the Pulpit. 

It is not intended at present to animadvert on the 
worst cases of the kind alluded to at the head of this 
chapter. No remarks will be made on instances in 
which a preacher has been chargeable with frivolity, 
and dissipation, and gross vice ; nor in which, with- 
out necessity, he has devoted nearly all his time, 
except on the Sabbath, to secular business ; nor to 
instances in which he has entered so deeply into po- 
litical discussions, as to leave him neither leisure 
nor inclination for the duties of his profession. Nor, 
finally, will any thing be said, particularly, in relation 
to instances in which several clergymen have form- 
ed a kind of spiritual junto, or aristocracy, for the 
purpose of raising themselves above their brethren, 
and securing for their own benefit, or that of their 
friends, the most honorable and lucrative of those 
places to which the ministers of Christ are permit- 

8 



82 CAUSES OF 

ted to aspire. In all cases of this kind, it must be 
obvious to the dullest understanding, that the preach- 
er's heart is not in his work, and that, of course, he 
cannot be expected to prosper in it. No; the 
Christian minister is supposed to be chargeable with 
none of these things. He is supposed to pay very- 
little attention to secular pursuits of any kind, and 
to be a modest, retiring, unostentatious man, who is 
willing to occupy a low place among his brethren. 
It is admitted, besides, that he devotes a suitable 
portion of his time to pastoral visits ; that in visit- 
ing his people, he maintains a serious, dignified de- 
portment ; and that his intercourse with them is uni- 
formly characterized by kindness of feeling and sua- 
vity of manners. Nay, more ; it is admitted that ho 
converses principally on moral and religious sub- 
jects, and that his discourse is uncommonly instruct- 
ive and interesting. Still, there may be a lamenta- 
ble defect in his manner of conducting pastoral 
visits. His conversation, after all, may have little 
or no tendency to promote the vitality and power 
of religion among the members of his church, or to 

arouse his unconverted hearers to a serious and 

i 

earnest attention to their immortal interests ; nay, 
it may have a contrary tendency. 

Let us suppose that, in conversing with the mem- 
bers of his church, he seldom urges with becoming 
solemnity and earnestness the importance of a holy 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 83 

life, of setting the affections on things above, of liv- 
ing as strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and of 
a daily consecration of the heart to God ; that he 
seldom endeavors to impress on their minds the ob- 
ligation they are under to hold all they have as sa- 
credly devoted to the cause of Christ ; that he sel- 
dom questions them closely on the state of their 
souls, or reproves them in a tender and solemn man- 
ner when they go astray ; that he says but little re- 
specting the love of God, the preciousness of Christ, 
or the glory of heaven ; but spends his visits prin- 
cipally in detailing the statistics of protracted meet- 
ings and revivals at home, or of missionary opera- 
tions abroad ; or in giving an account of the meet- 
ings of the various benevolent societies with which 
he is acquainted, — the efforts made, the agents em- 
ployed, the opposition encountered, and the sums 

raised by these associations There may 

be nothing positively wrong in his manner of con- 
ducting pastoral visits. Nay, the various topics on 
which he discourses may very properly be intro- 
duced ; they are all interesting and important, and 
ought to occupy a portion of every preacher's time, 
when he is conversing with his people. But his 
dwelling on them to the almost entire exclusion of 
other, and still more important topics, is an evil 
which can hardly fail of rendering his labors in pri- 
vate, on the whole, useless, if not positively injuri- 



84 CAUSES OF 

ous. Such visits are not adapted to inspire his breth- 
ren with ardent aspirations after eminence in ho- 
liness ; but rather to make them satisfied with a life 
of religious dissipation, in which the hurry, and bus- 
tle, and parade of meetings, speeches, and collec- 
tions are substituted for that daily and hourly inter- 
course of the soul with its God, in which the life and 
power of real piety so much consists.* 

In his private intercourse with the unconverted 
part of his congregation, let us suppose, that, though 
he is grave and serious, he manifests no deep sense 
of their lost and perishing condition, their exposure 
to the just displeasure of God, and their danger ev- 
ery moment of sinking into endless misery ; that, 
instead of this, his deportment and conversation na- 

* The writer hopes his Christian brethren will not misunder- 
stand him. He assures them that he is no enemy to the pious and 
benevolent operations of the day. He rejoices that so much is done 
and likely to be done, for sending the gospel to the heathen, for 
disseminating the Scriptures and well written Tracts, and for assist- 
ing in their preparatory studies such pious but indigent young men 
as God has called to the ministry of his word. He rejoices, too, in 
the efforts made in the cause of temperance and of moral re- 
form ; nay, in the whole system of measures adapted to meliorate 
the condition of the human race. What he objects to is the dis- 
proportionate regard which, in many instances, is paid to these 
objects — a regard which leaves scarce any time for secret prayer, 
for searching the heart, for studying the Bible, or for conversation 
with either saints or sinners on those momentous subjects with 
which the salvation of the soul is so intimately connected, 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 85 

turally lead them to suppose, that he considers them 
in a pardoned and justified state ; or, if not, that, in 
his opinion, there is no necessity for any deep con- 
cern, or any vigorous efforts on their part to obtain 
an interest in Christ. Is it difficult to determine 
what must be the natural tendency of his visits? 
Can they fail to operate as sedatives to any feelings 
of concern and anxiety which may have been pre- 
viously excited ? And yet, alas ! how many such 
visits have been made by thousands of clergymen 
of the most respectable standing ! How common 
it is for a preacher to converse with sinners in a 
general way, without even a serious endeavor to 
bring such truths as are specially suited to their case 
to bear upon the conscience and the heart ! In our 
pastoral visits, we ought, if possible, to clench the 
nail which we had driven in our public discourses ; 
instead of which, how often do we loosen it ; nay, 
draw it quite out of the sinner's heart ! Oh how impor- 
tant it is that the Christian pastor adopt a different 
course without delay ! How important that while 
making his parochial visits, he feel such a sense of the 
worth of souls, and such a deep concern for the con- 
version of his impenitent hearers, as shall constrain 
him to address them in the most serious, affection- 
ate, and impressive manner ; and to follow the prac- 
tice from week to week, and from month to month ! 
It is not, indeed, asserted, that the pastor of a church 
' 9 



86 CAUSES OF 

should never converse with his unconverted hearers 
on any but religious subjects. Other subjects may, 
and must be frequently introduced. But unless the 
design of their introduction be the transaction of ne- 
cessary wordly business, the discussion of them 
should invariably be so managed, as to prepare the 
way for subjects which have an immediate connec- 
tion with the soul, and its immortal interests. If 
any Christian reader should think the course here 
recommended too strict and puritanical, it seems 
sufficient to remark, that such was evidently the 
course pursued by our Saviour and his apostles ; 
nay, that such is the course pursued at present by 
all the true ministers of Christ in seasons of revi- 
val. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Prevalence of the opinion that on the pastor of a 
church is devolved the whole work of promoting 
the interests of religion in the place where he 
resides. 

Some religious people have imagined that the lay 
members of a church were authorized and required 
to perform nearly all the duties of a pastor ; and, 
of course, that the l&ier, except, perhaps, in the ad- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 87 

ministration of special ordinances, had little more 
to do than the other members of his church. This 
is, undoubtedly, a great mistake, and productive, 
wherever it prevails, of great mischief to the church 
of Christ. The pastor should, unquestionably, hold a 
very prominent place among his brethren. He has 
in a most emphatic sense the supervision of the 
branch of Zion with which he is connected. It is 
his duty, especially, to preach " the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God," to divide aright the word of 
truth, and to watch for souls as one who must give 
account. Indeed, the charge committed to him 
is one of the most sacred and awful which can be 
conceived, and requires that, in ordinary cases, his 
whole time and strength be devoted to it. It fol- 
lows, of course, that a want of faithfulness on his 
part is peculiarly criminal, and must, unless he re- 
pent, expose him to the most fearful tokens of the 
divine displeasure. Still, a great deal ought to be 
done by the members of his church and congrega- 
tion towards promoting the interests of religion 
among them. They are bound in the first place — 
unless their poverty absolutely forbids — to give him 
such a temporal support as shall enable him, not in- 
deed to accumulate a fortune, or to live in luxury 
and splendor, but to procure for himself and those 
dependent on him, the necessaries and comforts of 
life ; and, without paying much attention to worldly 



88 



CAUSES OP 



business, to make some decent provision for the 
exigencies of sickness and old age. A neglect on 
the part of his church to do this, is a great evil, as 
it must prevent his enriching his mind with spirit- 
ual knowledge, and preparing himself in a suitable 
manner for the services of the sanctuary. He can- 
not, therefore, supply the golden candlestick with 
beaten oil, or come to his people in the fulness of 
the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, or commend 
himself to their approbation as a scribe well instruct- 
ed in the kingdom of God, who, like a faithful house- 
holder, brings forth out of his treasures things new 
and old. And can it be wondered at, if the mem- 
bers of such a church do not grow in grace, or in 
spiritual knowledge ? The necessity which they 
impose on their pastor of devoting himself to secu- 
lar business, renders his sermons comparatively 
poor, destitute of that variety, and of those soul-en- 
riching exhibitions of divine truth which ought to 
characterize the preaching of a Christian pastor. 
Nor can it be expected that, after being immersed 
in the business of the world from Monday morning 
till Saturday night, the tone of his mind will be as 
spiritual and devout as it would have been had he 
been employed, during the week, in studying his 
Bible and discharging the other duties of his sacred 
calling. It cannot be expected that, either in preach- 
ing or praying, he will manifest that spirituality, 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 89 

solemnity, and fervor, so important to the minister 
of Christ, and so admirably adapted to promote the 
power of godliness among his people. Nor is this 
all. If the neglect of his people to supply his tem- 
poral wants, subjects him to the necessity of devot- 
ing most of his time to secular business, he cannot 
have much leisure for parochial visits, which, if 
rightly conducted, contribute greatly to a pastor's 
usefulness. While, therefore, his people, by with- 
holding from him a temporal support, render his 
pastoral visits few, they are taking a course which 
tends directly to impoverish their own souls, and 
spread darkness, and disunion, and spiritual barren- 
ness over the heritage of God. 

But there is more to be said on this subject. 
Withholding a temporal support from their pastor, 
is not the only particular in which the members of 
a church may fail of doing their duty. There ought 
to be on their part a general, constant, and vigor- 
ous co-operation with their pastor in his efforts to 
promote the interests of religion among them. 
While he, by his preaching and pastoral visits, is 
assiduously laboring for the good of their souls, it 
is very important that they assist him in these la- 
bors of love by a punctual attendance on religious 
meetings, by taking an active part in such meetings 
on proper occasions, by conversing much one with 

9* 



90 CAUSES OF 

another on divine subjects, by taking and reading 
those periodicals which are adapted to promote the 
spirit and power of true religion among them, by 
encouraging the Sunday School and the Bible Class, 
by contributing according to their ability in aid of 
the pious and benevolent operations of the day, by 
leading holy and blameless lives, by conversing with 
the unconverted of their respective families and 
neighborhoods, in a tender and serious manner on 
the state of their souls, by rallying round their pastor 
and sustaining him against the rude attacks which 
he sometimes experiences from the enemies of the 
cross, and by daily offering up to God in his behalf 
that effectual fervent prayer which availeth much. 
By doing these things, they would not only encour- 
age his heart and strengthen his hands in the great 
work to which he is devoted, and thereby enable 
him to do more, much more, than he otherwise 
could, but would do much directly themselves to- 
ward sustaining and advancing the cause of reli- 
gion among them. Those very exercises in which 
we have supposed them to be engaged would con- 
tribute much to foster the spirit and power of god- 
liness in their own hearts. While thus co-opera- 
ting with their pastor in doing good, their souls 
would be as a watered garden ; the graces of the 
Holy Spirit implanted in them, would be in a vigor- 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 91 

ous and healthful state, and the spirit of union and 
Christian love would be diffused through the whole 
church. Nor is it difficult to perceive what must 
be the effect of these things on such members of the 
congregation as are out of Christ. The church, oc- 
cupying such high and holy ground, must in connec- 
tion with her pastor, exert a mighty and a most 
salutary influence on the unconverted. The latter 
could hardly slumber securely in sin while assailed 
from every quarter by such powerful excitements 
to diligence and ardor in seeking the salvation of 
their souls. No, a principal reason why the uncon- 
verted are so easy, is that we who profess religion 
are so easy. Did we constantly manifest a deep 
sense of their guilt and danger, and an earnest so- 
licitude for their salvation, they would soon be 
aroused ; and, with the 3000 convicted on the day 
of Pentecost, would say " Men and brethren what 
must we do ?" Were the members of the church 
thus spiritual and faithful, the preached gospel 
would not be that inefficient, powerless thing which 
it now too often proves. The great truths of the 
Bible, exhibited by the faithful minister, would ap- 
prove themselves to the consciences of his hearers 
generally, and would " be mighty through God to 
the pulling down of strong holds." Sinners would 
be awakened, and converts multiplied ; and the 



92 CAUSES OF 

church would " look forth as the morning, fair as the 
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army 
with banners." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Manner in which Christians frequently treat the 
Holy Spirit 

It is the exhortation of an inspired apostle, " And 
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by which ye are 
sealed to the day of redemption." If any inquire, 
how we may grieve the Holy Spirit ; the answer 
is, that we do so by ungratefully disregarding either 
his past favors, or the present intimations he gives 
of his willingness to come and bless us. 

In regard to the past favors bestowed upon us by 
the Holy Spirit, we may well say that in number, 
variety, and value, they exceed all calculation, and 
have laid us under obligations which eternity only 
can discharge. It was this heavenly Agent who, 
from love to our souls, so often visited us in our un- 
converted state, and urged upon our consciences 
the baseness and the guilt of rebelling against God ; 
who told us of the danger to which that rebellion 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 93 

exposed us, and warned us to flee without delay to 
the gospel Refuge. It was the same blessed Agent 
who, after being long resisted and abused, at last con- 
vinced us of our guilt and ruin, and by the omnipo- 
tence of his grace subdued the enmity of our hearts, 
humbled us in the dust, and made us the joyful par- 
takers of pardon, and all the rich blessings of the ever- 
lasting covenant. Yes, it was the Holy Spirit who 
took us out of the horrible pit and miry clay of an 
unregenerate state, and set our feet on the Rock of 
ages, established our goings in the highway of ho- 
liness, and put a new song into our mouths, even 
praise unto our God. It was He that revealed 
Christ in us the hope of glory. It was He that made 
us members of the royal family of heaven, heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ to an inheritance 
which is incorruptible, and undefiled, and fadeth not 
away. It was the same Spirit who led us by the 
hand during the period of our spiritual infancy, that 
gradually opened to us the mind and will of God, as 
revealed in his word, that so often applied the truth 
with light and comfort to our hearts, and thus sealed 
us to the day of redemption. It was the same hea- 
venly Agent who so frequently brought us back 
when we had strayed from the spiritual fold ; who 
healed our wounds, assuaged our griefs, allayed our 
fears, indited our petitions, helped our infirmities 



94 CAUSES OF 

and made intercession for us according to the will 
of God. It was He, too, who in the time of great 
outward troubles, — the loss of property, of health, 
or of endeared friends — stood by us and sustained 
us. When we were ready to sink, this blessed 
Comforter whispered in our ear, " As thy day is 
thy strength shall be. When thou passest through 
the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
rivers, they shall not overflow thee. When thou 
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, 
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Nay, 
such was the support and consolation which his 
presence and grace afforded, that each of us was 
constrained to say, " Though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; 
for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they 
comfort me." Indeed, the favors bestowed upon 
us by the Holy Spirit demand the liveliest emotions 
of gratitude, and can never be adequately repaid or 
acknowledged in this world or the next. And how 
have we requited this heavenly Benefactor ? How 
vastly disproportionate our gratitude to the innu- 
merable and immensely rich blessings which he has 
bestowed upon us ! How little have we felt our 
obligations to him for all the grace and consolation 
which we have received, and for all the well-founded 
hopes of heaven which we have been permitted to 
cherish ! And can we wonder that, aggrieved by our 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 95 

ingratitude, he has for a season withdrawn himself 
from us, and left us in a measure destitute of the 
blessings which we had so strangely abused ? 

There is one way in which this ingratitude has 
been manifested that deserves to be particularly 
mentioned. We have too often arrogated to our- 
selves a part of the glory which was due exclusive- 
ly to the Spirit of God. He has, suppose, blessed 
us with a revival of his gracious work among us. 
Our own souls, which for a season were like the 
heath in the wilderness, have become like the gar- 
den of the Lord ; while many around us, who were 
dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened 
by his saving power, and made to sit together in 
heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The preached 
word was, for a time, quick and powerful, sharper 
than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing 
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
row, and became a discerner of the thoughts and in- 
tents of the heart. When the servant of the Lord 
prophesied over the dry bones, there was a noise 
and a shaking ; and the bones came together, bone 
to its bone ; and lo, the sinews and the flesh came 
up upon them, and the skin covered them above. 
And when he prophesied again, the breath of hea- 
venly life came into them, and caused them to stand 
up on their feet an embattled host, prepared to en- 
dure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ 



96 CAUSES OF 

Such a season of refreshing from the presence of 
the Lord, was most evidently his work ; and, while 
enjoying it, we were bound to lie in the dust before 
him, and to ascribe the glory, the whole glory, to his 
most holy name. This, perhaps, we frequently ac- 
knowledged, both in private and in public. We 
called the work, we were permitted to witness, the 
work of God. We admitted the agency of his bles- 
sed spirit in the whole matter. But still we claimed 
a part of the glory for ourselves and for certain in- 
dividuals of our fellow men. Before the work com- 
menced, and during its progress, we did much to 
promote it. We held numerous prayer meetings ; 
we appointed committees to visit from house to 
house, and converse faithfully with saints and sin- 
ners. We endeavored, besides, as individuals, to 
excite an attention to religion in all around us. We 
conversed in a serious manner with each person to 
whom we could have access, and labored to make 
an impression on every mind in favor of Christ and 
his cause. Our minister was remarkably faithful 
and laborious, and did much to promote the revival. 
He chose the most appropriate subjects, and dis- 
cussed them in the most instructive and impres- 
sive manner. He laid open the sinner's case so 
plainly, that it seemed impossible for any, however 
stupid and hardened, to fail of realizing their lost 
condition. Neighboring ministers came in to his 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 97 

assistance, and by their excellent sermons and ex- 
hortations, did much to help forward the good 
work. One individual was awakened by this ser- 
mon, and another by that ; while by a third, seve- 
ral were brought to rejoice in the truth. And while 
thinking and speaking of the work in this manner, 
have we not felt, and has not our language some- 
times implied, that almost as much was to be attri- 
buted to the agency of man, as to that of the Holy 
Spirit ? For some years past, the churches, gene- 
rally, have evidently been in great danger of cher- 
ishing feelings and uttering expressions of this kind. 
The subject of human agency has been much dis- 
cussed, and many excellent things have been said 
upon it. The antinomian heresy has been thor- 
oughly exposed, and the importance of a proper use 
of the appointed means of grace, has been placed 
in a clear and strong light. Christians now feel 
the necessity of human efforts in relation to the sal- 
vation of the soul, and to the cause of Christ, as 
much as in relation to their secular pursuits. And, 
thus far, all is right. But experience and observa- 
tion teach us how difficult it is to preserve, in regard 
to any two extremes, the proper medium. There 
are not a few who, in their zeal to shun the errors 
of the antinomian and the fatalist, seem to have 
gone into the opposite extreme, and to have attri- 
buted more to human agenoy than they ought ; in 

10 



98 CAUSES OP 

doing which they have withheld from the Holy- 
Spirit the glory due to his name. They have seem- 
ed to imagine that a revival might be produced at 
any time by the use of proper means, — that, for in- 
stance, a series of religious meetings well sustained 
by ministers and people, could hardly fail of awak- 
ening slumbering sinners, and bringing many of 
them to the saving knowledge of Christ. Under 
these circumstances, can we wonder if the Spirit of 
the Lord has been grieved ; and, leaving ministers 
and people to try their own strength, has taught 
them by the entire failure of their efforts, that, what- 
ever means or instruments may be employed, the 
excellency of the power is of God and not of them ? 
And is not this one reason why, in so many instan- 
ces, protracted meetings have been held without 
success ? 

There is, as already intimated, another way in 
which we may have grieved the Holy Spirit, name- 
ly, by ungratefully disregarding the present intima- 
tions of his willingness to come and bless us. Since 
the commencement of that spiritual apathy which 
now so generally prevails, there have, probably, been 
seasons in which a degree of quickening has been 
felt by the members of the church, and in which sin- 
ners have paid more than usual attention to the 
means of grace. During two or three weeks, sup- 
pose, religious meetings have been more numerously 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 99 

attended, and the preached gospel has been listen- 
ed to with more seriousness, and the truth has 
seemed to fall on the assembly with greater weight 
than on ordinary occasions. At such times the 
Holy Spirit is giving us intimations of his willing- 
ness to come and bless us with abundant showers 
of grace. And there seems no reason to doubt but 
that he would actually do this, did we not by our 
coldness and indifference, show that we were not 
prepared to appreciate the blessing which he was 
about to confer. Suppose a friend should call on 
us in the morning, and with the utmost kindness 
and delicacy, should intimate his willingness to pass 
the day with us. And suppose, that, instead of bid- 
ding him a cordial welcome, we should treat him 
with neglect, and give him the strongest reason to 
conclude that we did not desire his company. 
Would he not be grieved ? And would he be like- 
ly to visit us again very soon ? — Can we won- 
der, then, that the spirit of the Lord, when treated 
in a similar manner by those who are infinitely in- 
debted to him, should withdraw from them, and 
leave them destitute of the sensible tokens of his 
love, till they realize their guilt and folly, and man- 
ifest an earnest desire to regain the rich blessing 
which they now so strangely despise ? * 

* See the Rev. Dr. Hall's Treatise on the Holy Spirit. 



100 CAUSES OF 



CHAPTER XV. 



Neglect of the daily exercise of Repentance to* 
wards God, and of Faith towards our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

It will be generally admitted that unconverted 
men must repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ, 
before they can enjoy true peace, or lead a holy 
life. It will also be admitted that, when a saint has 
been chargeable with any remarkable deviation 
from the right path, a new exercise of repentance 
and faith is necessary for him ; as in the case of 
David when he had sinned in the affair of Uriah ; 
and of Peter, when he had denied his Lord and Mas- 
ter. But we do not seem to realize that the like ne- 
cessity exists, daily, in regard to all the members 
of the Redeemer's spiritual family. We are apt to 
suppose that when a Christian leads what we con- 
sider an exemplary, pious life, he may go on pros- 
perously, for weeks and months, without any spe- 
cial exercise of faith or repentance. This might, 
and probably would, be true of us, if we had attain- 
ed to sinless perfection. Were we sure that we did 
nothing offensive to God — that the feelings of our 
hearts were all in perfect conformity with the divine 
requirements — we might pass days and weeks, per- 
haps months and years, without any new exercise 



RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 101 

of godly sorrow, or any new application to Christ 
as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of 
the world. But such is not our case. We daily 
sin, and come short of the glory of God. It is sel- 
dom we pass a day, without saying or doing some- 
thing which a tender and enlightened conscience is 
constrained to condemn. And as to our thoughts 
and feelings, how many times, in a single day, if 
not in a single hour, are they different from what 
they ought to be ! How much selfishness, and pride, 
and vain-glory are felt ! How much inordinate 
love to the world ! How much unwillingness to 
deny ourselves and bear the cross ! Or if we are 
conscious of nothing positively wrong, how great a 
want of intensity and fervor is there in our spirit- 
ual feelings ! How far does our love to God, to 
his word and to his cause, fall below that high 
and perfect standard by which we are required to 
try ourselves ! And how often do we suffer our 
thoughts to wander from spiritual subjects, when 
we might control them, and when, without any 
prejudice to our worldly business, they might be 
occupied with the great and precious truths of the 
gospel. Indeed, it is evident that the best Chris- 
tian in the world who properly watches the move- 
ments of his own mind, even when his outward con- 
duct is entirely fair, will find enough every day to 

fill him with shame and confusion before God, and 

10* 



102 CAUSES OF RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 

to render him incapable of joy, or peace, till with 
unfeigned sorrow he has made confession at the 
mercy seat, and has gone by faith to that blessed 
fountain which cleanses from all iniquity. A neg- 
lect to do this seems to be a principal reason why 
Christians in general live so little as they ought to 
do, and enjoy so little of the comforts of religion. 
Sin defiles the conscience ; and, when the conscience 
is defiled, all our spiritual energies are enfeebled ; 
we gradually become spiritually diseased, and are 
disqualified alike for running the race which is set 
before us, and for partaking of those rich consola- 
tions which the Lord has prepared for his people. 
To change the figure, sin wounds the soul ; and un- 
less we daily repent and go to Christ by faith, our 
wounds are not healed. They, of course, increase 
in number and virulence daily ; till, in process of 
time, the soul resembles the body when covered 
with bruises and putrifying sores. Now this is re- 
ally the case at present with a multitude of profess- 
ed Christians, and with many churches. Should we 
strip off the garment of external decency which co- 
vers them, we should find, alas ! but little besides a 
mass of moral putrescence. Oh how important it 
is that individual Christians, and churches realize 
this lamentable truth, and repair without delay to 
the great Physician, and to the fountain which he 
has opened — a fountain whose living waters are 



CLOSING ADDRESS. 103 

adapted alike to cleanse the polluted soul, and heal 
its spiritual maladies ! Were this done daily, Chris- 
tians would not so often resemble those who are 
dead in trespasses and sins. No ; the members of 
the church would exhibit the appearance of moral 
and spiritual health ; and, instead of that languor 
and feebleness which now too often characterize 
them, would be strong in the Lord, and in the pow- 
er of his might ; and their achievements in the spir- 
itual warfare would be truly glorious. 



CLOSING ADDRESS. 

To real Christians of every Denomination. 

Beloved Brethren, 

The writer has now done what he 
had principally in view in this essay — has taken a 
brief survey of the evil in question, and pointed out 
what he considers some of the principal causes to 
which it should be ascribed. He does not by any 
means pretend to have exhausted the subject. He 
is sensible that other causes might justly be assign- 
ed. But he wishes to avoid unnecessary prolixity ; 
and, unless he greatly mistake, the causes which 



104 CLOSING ADDRESS. 

have been named are the most prominent ; and will, 
if properly weighed, lead to the contemplation of 
those which, for brevity's sake, have been omitted* 
The subject, you will all admit, is one of vast im- 
portance—a subject in the right understanding of 
which the glory of God, the prosperity of his spir- 
itual kingdom, and the best interests of the soul are 
deeply involved. He trusts, therefore, that what 
he has said will receive your candid and prayerful 
attention, and will be the means of inciting us all 
to avoid in future the errors in our spiritual course 
from which so much evil has resulted. Do you ask, 
" By what means may we obtain deliverance from 
the unhappy state into which we have fallen ?" You 
will find an answer in the last chapter of this es- 
say. It was there stated that the neglect of the 
daily exercise of repentance towards God, and of 
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, was one cause 
of the evil in question. It is proper now to add, 
that we cannot rise out of this low condition with- 
out repenting of our sins in dust and ashes, and go- 
ing anew to Christ in the exercise of a true and live- 
ly faith. Till this is done, we cannot attain that el- 
evated standing as individuals, or as churches, which 
we ought to occupy ; nor can we walk in the light 
of the Lord, or enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the 
unconverted around us become the friends and fol- 
lowers of Jesus Christ. And shall we not, breth- 



CLOSING ADDRESS. 105 

ren, immediately betake ourselves, in a humble de- 
pendence on the grace of God, to the performance 
of this necessary and most important work ? Shall 
we live any longer at this poor dying rate ? — dis- 
honoring the name of our God and Saviour, depriv- 
ing our own souls of all real comfort, and confirm- 
ing the ungodly in their opposition to Christ and 
the way of holiness ? Alas ! brethren, shall we re- 
main another year in this sad condition? Shall 
we remain another month, or another day ? Behold, 
, our God is rich in mercy, and is waiting to receive 
us, wretched prodigals ; to purify us from all our 
pollutions, to clothe us with the garments of salva- 
tion, and to admit us, unworthy and guilty as we 
are, to the richest entertainments of his house. And 
shall we refuse to avail ourselves of his grace and 
bounty ? Shall we choose to remain in the " far 
country," where dearth, and famine, and degrada- 
tion, and death abound ? Shall we perish with hun- 
ger, rather than return to our Father's house where 
is bread enough and to spare ? Oh let us obey that 
voice which speaks to us from the heights of Zion, 
and says, " Return ye backsliding children, and I 
will heal your backslidings." Let us bless the 
name of that gracious Being with whom there is 
forgiveness, that he may be feared ; and let us unite 
in saying to him, " Behold, we come unto thee ; for 
thou art the Lord our God." This done, we shall 
regain the consolations of his grace, shall teach 



106 CLOSING ADDRESS. 

transgressors his ways, and see them flying to him 
as clouds and as doves to their windows. Nor shall 
we long be destitute of the satisfaction arising from 
an assurance that we are instrumental in advancing 
the interests of his kingdom, and of glorifying him in 
our bodies and spirits which are his. 

The importance of our returning to the Lord is 
enhanced by the peculiar situation of the church of 
Christ at the present day. She is fast approaching 
a most interesting crisis in that mighty contest which 
she has so long maintained with the powers of dark- 
ness. If the writer has any correct understanding 
of the prophetical Scriptures, the time cannot be 
very far distant when the kingdoms of this world 
are to become the kingdoms of our God and of his 
Christ. But this glorious triumph of truth and 
righteousness is most evidently to be preceded by 
extraordinary exertions on the part of the great ad- 
versary of God and man, to maintain his dominion 
over this fallen world, and prevent, if possible, the 
fulfilment of the promises made to Zion respecting 
her enlargement and glory in the latter days. This 
is plainly intimated by several of the inspired wri- 
ters; particularly by St. John in the 16th chapter 
of the Apocalypse. " I saw," says he, " three un- 
clean spirits like frogs go out of the mouth of the 
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out 
of the mouth of the false prophet. For these" he 



CLOSING ADDRESS. 107 

adds, " are the spirits of devils, working miracles, 
which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of 
the whole world, to gather them to the battle of 
that great day of God Almighty." Without at- 
tempting an exegesis of this interesting passage, we 
may venture to say, that it plainly indicates an ex- 
tended and desperate effort on the part of Satan to 
muster his forces, and bring on a general engage- 
ment between the friends and the enemies of Christ. 
And are there not, brethren, some clear indications 
of such a movement in the existing state of the 
world ? Are not the agents and emissaries of the 
prince of darkness, and of the anti-christian powers of 
Europe, laboring with unusual industry and zeal, es- 
pecially in our country, to destroy those civil and re- 
ligious institutions, on the preservation of which, the 
prosperity of the Church of Christ so essentially de- 
pends? Has not the civil and religious state of our 
country greatly changed for the worse, within a very 
few years? And should the progress of moral and poli- 
tical deterioration be equally rapid for a few years to 
come, what will remain to us of the fair inheritance 
left us by our fathers ? Indeed, there appears much 
reason to fear that, in less than twenty years, the em- 
pire of liberty and of true religion in this western 
world, will be subverted ; and that all the evils na- 
turally resulting from the prevalence of despotic 
power, and of an impure and bloody superstition, 



108 CLOSING ADDRESS. 

will here be realized. And does it, brethren, become 
us, at such a time, to slumber ? Oh how important 
it is that we awake to righteousness, and pray with 
fervency for the interposition of that almighty arm, 
which alone can save ourselves, our children, our 
country, and the church of Christ, from impending 
evils ! 



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